Electronic device for determining position of external electronic device and method thereof

ABSTRACT

A portable electronic device is disclosed that includes a communication circuit electrically connected to a first antenna or a third antenna and electrically connected to a second antenna, at least one processor, and a memory. The memory may store one or more instructions that, when executed, cause the at least one processor to receive a first signal including first data from an external electronic device using the first antenna and the second antenna, receive a second signal including second data from the external electronic device using the third antenna, and determine a position of the external electronic device based on a phase difference of the first signal, time information of the first data, and time information of the second data. In addition to the above, various embodiments understood through the present disclosure are possible.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Various embodiments disclosed in the present disclosure relate to anelectronic device for determining the position of an external electronicdevice and a method thereof.

BACKGROUND ART

Various position-based services are provided. The position-based servicemay provide a more improved service as the position of a user is moreaccurately determined. For example, the position of an electronic devicemay be determined based on a global navigation satellite system (GNSS).In this case, the position of the electronic device may be determinedwith an error of about 10 meters. However, other positioning methods maybe required to determine the electronic device more accurately. Inaddition, positioning based on satellite signals may not be performedindoors.

For more accurate positioning, various methods may be used. For example,the electronic device may determine the position of an externalelectronic device by transmitting and receiving signals to and from theexternal electronic device. The electronic device may receive signalsfrom an external electronic device using a plurality of antennas, andmay determine the position of the external electronic device based onthe phase difference between the received signals received by therespective antennas. The electronic device may receive a signalincluding transmission time information or reception time informationfrom the external electronic device, and may determine a distancebetween the electronic device and the external electronic device basedon the received signal.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Technical Problem

For example, the electronic device may be a portable electronic device.In general, the portable electronic device may have a limited size. Inaddition, the portable electronic device may have limited functionalitydue to various constraints. For example, the portable electronic devicemay include a limited number of antennas. Due to limited functionality,the portable electronic device may determine the position of theexternal electronic device only for limited coverage. For example, inorder to increase the coverage, it may be contemplated to increase thenumber of antennas of the portable electronic device. In this case, theproduction cost and/or size of the portable electronic device may beincreased.

For the portable electronic device, the user may hold the portableelectronic device in various ways. In this case, as the orientation ofthe portable electronic device is changed, information required todetermine the position of the external electronic device may beinsufficient.

Technical Solution

Various respective aspects and features of the invention are defined inthe appended claims. Combinations of features from the dependent claimsmay be combined with features of the independent claims as appropriateand not merely as explicitly set out in the claims.

Furthermore, one or more selected features of any one embodimentdescribed in this disclosure may be combined with one or more selectedfeatures of any other embodiment described herein, provided that thealternative combination of features at least partially alleviates theone or more technical problem discussed in this disclosure or at leastpartially alleviates a technical problem discernable by the skilledperson from this disclosure and further provided that the particularcombination or permutation of embodiment features thus formed would notbe understood by the skilled person to be incompatible.

Two or more physically distinct components in any described exampleimplementation of this disclosure may alternatively be integrated into asingle component where possible, provided that the same function isperformed by the single component thus formed. Conversely, a singlecomponent of any embodiment described in this disclosure mayalternatively be implemented as two or more distinct components toachieve the same function, where appropriate.

A portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure includes a communication circuit electrically connected to afirst antenna or a third antenna and electrically connected to a secondantenna, at least one processor operatively connected with thecommunication circuit, and a memory operatively connected with the atleast one processor, wherein the memory may store one or moreinstructions that, when executed, cause the at least one processor toreceive a first signal including first data from an external electronicdevice using the first antenna and the second antenna, receive a secondsignal including second data from the external electronic device usingthe third antenna, and determine a position of the external electronicdevice based on a phase difference of the first signal, time informationof the first data, and time information of the second data.

Furthermore, a method of determining a position of an externalelectronic device by a portable electronic device according to anembodiment of the present disclosure includes receiving a first signalincluding first data from the external electronic device using a firstantenna and a second antenna connected to a communication circuit of theportable electronic device, switching the connection of the firstantenna such that the communication circuit is connected to the thirdantenna, receiving a second signal including second data from theexternal electronic device using the third antenna, and determining theposition of the external electronic device based on a phase differenceof the first signal, time information of the first data, and timeinformation of the second data, wherein the communication circuit may beelectrically connected to the first antenna or the third antenna andelectrically connected to the second antenna.

Furthermore, a portable electronic device according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure includes a communication circuit electricallyconnected to a first antenna and electrically connected to a secondantenna or a third antenna, at least one processor operatively connectedwith the communication circuit, and a memory operatively connected withthe at least one processor, wherein the memory may store one or moreinstructions that, when executed, cause the at least one processor toreceive a first signal including first data from an external electronicdevice using the first antenna and the second antenna, receive a secondsignal including second data from the external electronic device usingthe first antenna and the second antenna, and determine a position ofthe external electronic device based on a phase difference of the firstsignal, time information of the first data, a phase difference of thesecond signal, and time information of the second data.

It is an aim of certain embodiments of the invention to solve, mitigateor obviate, at least partly, at least one of the problems and/ordisadvantages associated with the prior art. Certain embodiments aim toprovide at least one of the advantages described below.

Advantageous Effects

According to various embodiments disclosed in the present disclosure, anelectronic device may determine the position of an external electronicdevice.

According to various embodiments disclosed in the present disclosure, anelectronic device may improve accuracy in determining a position byusing various antennas.

According to various embodiments disclosed in the present disclosure, anelectronic device may improve a range of determining a position by usingvarious antennas.

Besides, various effects may be provided that are directly or indirectlyunderstood through the disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an electronic device in a networkaccording to various embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates an antenna arrangement for positioning of anelectronic device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates an antenna arrangement for positioning of theelectronic device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates an antenna arrangement for positioning of theelectronic device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates antennas of the electronic device according to anembodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of the electronic device according toan embodiment.

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of the electronic device according toan embodiment.

FIG. 8 a illustrates a block diagram of the electronic device accordingto an embodiment.

FIG. 8 b illustrates a block diagram of the electronic device accordingto an embodiment.

FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of the electronic device according toan embodiment.

FIG. 10 a illustrates a signal flow diagram of a position determinationmethod according to an embodiment.

FIG. 10 b illustrates a signal flow diagram of the positiondetermination method according to an embodiment.

FIG. 10 c illustrates a signal flow diagram of the positiondetermination method according to an embodiment.

FIG. 11 illustrates a signal flow diagram of the position determinationmethod according to an embodiment.

FIG. 12 illustrates a signal flow diagram of the position determinationmethod according to an embodiment.

FIG. 13 illustrates a signal flow diagram of the position determinationmethod according to an embodiment.

FIG. 14 illustrates packet structures according to various embodiments.

FIG. 15 illustrates a flow chart of the position determination methodaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 16 illustrates a flow chart of the position determination methodaccording to an embodiment.

With respect to the description of the drawings, the same or similarreference numerals may be used for the same or similar elements.

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, various embodiments disclosed in the disclosure will bedescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should beappreciated that embodiments and the terms used therein are not intendedto limit the technologies set forth herein to particular embodiments andinclude various modifications, equivalents, and/or replacements for acorresponding embodiment.

The scope of protection is defined by the appended independent claims.Further features are specified by the appended dependent claims. Exampleimplementations can be realized comprising one or more features of anyclaim taken jointly and severally in any and all permutations.

The examples described in this disclosure include non-limiting exampleimplementations of components corresponding to one or more featuresspecified by the appended independent claims and these features (ortheir corresponding components) either individually or in combinationmay contribute to ameliorating one or more technical problems deducibleby the skilled person from this disclosure.

Furthermore, one or more selected component of any one example describedin this disclosure may be combined with one or more selected componentof any other one or more example described in this disclosure, oralternatively may be combined with features of an appended independentclaim to form a further alternative example.

Further example implementations can be realized comprising one or morecomponents of any herein described implementation taken jointly andseverally in any and all permutations. Yet further exampleimplementations may also be realized by combining features of one ormore of the appended claims with one or more selected components of anyexample implementation described herein.

In forming such further example implementations, some components of anyexample implementation described in this disclosure may be omitted. Theone or more components that may be omitted are those components that theskilled person would directly and unambiguously recognize as being not,as such, indispensable for the function of the present technique in thelight of a technical problem discernible from this disclosure. Theskilled person would recognize that replacement or removal of such anomitted components does not require modification of other components orfeatures of the further alternative example to compensate for thechange. Thus further example implementations may be included, accordingto the present technique, even if the selected combination of featuresand/or components is not specifically recited in this disclosure.

Two or more physically distinct components in any described exampleimplementation of this disclosure may alternatively be integrated into asingle component where possible, provided that the same function isperformed by the single component thus formed. Conversely, a singlecomponent of any example implementation described in this disclosure mayalternatively be implemented as two or more distinct components toachieve the same function, where appropriate.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device 101 in anetwork environment 100 according to various embodiments. Referring toFIG. 1 , the electronic device 101 in the network environment 100 maycommunicate with an electronic device 102 via a first network 198 (e.g.,a short-range wireless communication network), or an electronic device104 or a server 108 via a second network 199 (e.g., a long-rangewireless communication network). According to an embodiment, theelectronic device 101 may communicate with the electronic device 104 viathe server 108. According to an embodiment, the electronic device 101may include a processor 120, memory 130, an input device 150, a soundoutput device 155, a display device 160, an audio module 170, a sensormodule 176, an interface 177, a haptic module 179, a camera module 180,a power management module 188, a battery 189, a communication module190, a subscriber identification module(SIM) 196, or an antenna module197. In some embodiments, at least one (e.g., the display device 160 orthe camera module 180) of the components may be omitted from theelectronic device 101, or one or more other components may be added inthe electronic device 101. In some embodiments, some of the componentsmay be implemented as single integrated circuitry. For example, thesensor module 176 (e.g., a fingerprint sensor, an iris sensor, or anilluminance sensor) may be implemented as embedded in the display device160 (e.g., a display).

The processor 120 may execute, for example, software (e.g., a program140) to control at least one other component (e.g., a hardware orsoftware component) of the electronic device 101 coupled with theprocessor 120, and may perform various data processing or computation.According to one embodiment, as at least part of the data processing orcomputation, the processor 120 may load a command or data received fromanother component (e.g., the sensor module 176 or the communicationmodule 190) in volatile memory 132, process the command or the datastored in the volatile memory 132, and store resulting data innon-volatile memory 134. According to an embodiment, the processor 120may include a main processor 121 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU)or an application processor (AP)), and an auxiliary processor 123 (e.g.,a graphics processing unit (GPU), an image signal processor (ISP), asensor hub processor, or a communication processor (CP)) that isoperable independently from, or in conjunction with, the main processor121. Additionally or alternatively, the auxiliary processor 123 may beadapted to consume less power than the main processor 121, or to bespecific to a specified function. The auxiliary processor 123 may beimplemented as separate from, or as part of the main processor 121.

The auxiliary processor 123 may control at least some of functions orstates related to at least one component (e.g., the display device 160,the sensor module 176, or the communication module 190) among thecomponents of the electronic device 101, instead of the main processor121 while the main processor 121 is in an inactive (e.g., sleep) state,or together with the main processor 121 while the main processor 121 isin an active state (e.g., executing an application). According to anembodiment, the auxiliary processor 123 (e.g., an image signal processoror a communication processor) may be implemented as part of anothercomponent (e.g., the camera module 180 or the communication module 190)functionally related to the auxiliary processor 123.

The memory 130 may store various data used by at least one component(e.g., the processor 120 or the sensor module 176) of the electronicdevice 101. The various data may include, for example, software (e.g.,the program 140) and input data or output data for a command relatedthereto. The memory 130 may include the volatile memory 132 or thenon-volatile memory 134.

The program 140 may be stored in the memory 130 as software, and mayinclude, for example, an operating system (OS) 142, middleware 144, oran application 146.

The input device 150 may receive a command or data to be used by othercomponent (e.g., the processor 120) of the electronic device 101, fromthe outside (e.g., a user) of the electronic device 101. The inputdevice 150 may include, for example, a microphone, a mouse, a keyboard,or a digital pen (e.g., a stylus pen).

The sound output device 155 may output sound signals to the outside ofthe electronic device 101. The sound output device 155 may include, forexample, a speaker or a receiver. The speaker may be used for generalpurposes, such as playing multimedia or playing record, and the receivermay be used for an incoming calls. According to an embodiment, thereceiver may be implemented as separate from, or as part of the speaker.

The display device 160 may visually provide information to the outside(e.g., a user) of the electronic device 101. The display device 160 mayinclude, for example, a display, a hologram device, or a projector andcontrol circuitry to control a corresponding one of the display,hologram device, and projector. According to an embodiment, the displaydevice 160 may include touch circuitry adapted to detect a touch, orsensor circuitry (e.g., a pressure sensor) adapted to measure theintensity of force incurred by the touch.

The audio module 170 may convert a sound into an electrical signal andvice versa. According to an embodiment, the audio module 170 may obtainthe sound via the input device 150, or output the sound via the soundoutput device 155 or a headphone of an external electronic device (e.g.,an electronic device 102) directly (e.g., wiredly) or wirelessly coupledwith the electronic device 101.

The sensor module 176 may detect an operational state (e.g., power ortemperature) of the electronic device 101 or an environmental state(e.g., a state of a user) external to the electronic device 101, andthen generate an electrical signal or data value corresponding to thedetected state. According to an embodiment, the sensor module 176 mayinclude, for example, a gesture sensor, a gyro sensor, an atmosphericpressure sensor, a magnetic sensor, an acceleration sensor, a gripsensor, a proximity sensor, a color sensor, an infrared (IR) sensor, abiometric sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, or anilluminance sensor.

The interface 177 may support one or more specified protocols to be usedfor the electronic device 101 to be coupled with the external electronicdevice (e.g., the electronic device 102) directly (e.g., wiredly) orwirelessly. According to an embodiment, the interface 177 may include,for example, a high definition multimedia interface (HDMI), a universalserial bus (USB) interface, a secure digital (SD) card interface, or anaudio interface.

A connecting terminal 178 may include a connector via which theelectronic device 101 may be physically connected with the externalelectronic device (e.g., the electronic device 102). According to anembodiment, the connecting terminal 178 may include, for example, a HDMIconnector, a USB connector, a SD card connector, or an audio connector(e.g., a headphone connector).

The haptic module 179 may convert an electrical signal into a mechanicalstimulus (e.g., a vibration or a movement) or electrical stimulus whichmay be recognized by a user via his tactile sensation or kinestheticsensation. According to an embodiment, the haptic module 179 mayinclude, for example, a motor, a piezoelectric element, or an electricstimulator.

The camera module 180 may capture a still image or moving images.According to an embodiment, the camera module 180 may include one ormore lenses, image sensors, image signal processors, or flashes.

The power management module 188 may manage power supplied to theelectronic device 101. According to one embodiment, the power managementmodule 188 may be implemented as at least part of, for example, a powermanagement integrated circuit (PMIC).

The battery 189 may supply power to at least one component of theelectronic device 101. According to an embodiment, the battery 189 mayinclude, for example, a primary cell which is not rechargeable, asecondary cell which is rechargeable, or a fuel cell.

The communication module 190 may support establishing a direct (e.g.,wired) communication channel or a wireless communication channel betweenthe electronic device 101 and the external electronic device (e.g., theelectronic device 102, the electronic device 104, or the server 108) andperforming communication via the established communication channel. Thecommunication module 190 may include one or more communicationprocessors that are operable independently from the processor 120 (e.g.,the application processor (AP)) and supports a direct (e.g., wired)communication or a wireless communication. According to an embodiment,the communication module 190 may include a wireless communication module192 (e.g., a cellular communication module, a short-range wirelesscommunication module, or a global navigation satellite system (GNSS)communication module) or a wired communication module 194 (e.g., a localarea network (LAN) communication module or a power line communication(PLC) module). A corresponding one of these communication modules maycommunicate with the external electronic device via the first network198 (e.g., a short-range communication network, such as Bluetooth™,wireless-fidelity (Wi-Fi) direct, or infrared data association (IrDA))or the second network 199 (e.g., a long-range communication network,such as a cellular network, the Internet, or a computer network (e.g.,LAN or wide area network (WAN)). These various types of communicationmodules may be implemented as a single component (e.g., a single chip),or may be implemented as multi components (e.g., multi chips) separatefrom each other. The wireless communication module 192 may identify andauthenticate the electronic device 101 in a communication network, suchas the first network 198 or the second network 199, using subscriberinformation (e.g., international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI))stored in the subscriber identification module 196.

The antenna module 197 may transmit or receive a signal or power to orfrom the outside (e.g., the external electronic device) of theelectronic device 101. According to an embodiment, the antenna module197 may include an antenna including a radiating element composed of aconductive material or a conductive pattern formed in or on a substrate(e.g., PCB). According to an embodiment, the antenna module 197 mayinclude a plurality of antennas. In such a case, at least one antennaappropriate for a communication scheme used in the communicationnetwork, such as the first network 198 or the second network 199, may beselected, for example, by the communication module 190 (e.g., thewireless communication module 192) from the plurality of antennas. Thesignal or the power may then be transmitted or received between thecommunication module 190 and the external electronic device via theselected at least one antenna. According to an embodiment, anothercomponent (e.g., a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC)) other thanthe radiating element may be additionally formed as part of the antennamodule 197.

At least some of the above-described components may be coupled mutuallyand communicate signals (e.g., commands or data) therebetween via aninter-peripheral communication scheme (e.g., a bus, general purposeinput and output (GPIO), serial peripheral interface (SPI), or mobileindustry processor interface (MIPI)).

According to an embodiment, commands or data may be transmitted orreceived between the electronic device 101 and the external electronicdevice 104 via the server 108 coupled with the second network 199. Eachof the electronic devices 102 and 104 may be a device of a same type as,or a different type, from the electronic device 101. According to anembodiment, all or some of operations to be executed at the electronicdevice 101 may be executed at one or more of the external electronicdevices 102, 104, or 108. For example, if the electronic device 101should perform a function or a service automatically, or in response toa request from a user or another device, the electronic device 101,instead of, or in addition to, executing the function or the service,may request the one or more external electronic devices to perform atleast part of the function or the service. The one or more externalelectronic devices receiving the request may perform the at least partof the function or the service requested, or an additional function oran additional service related to the request, and transfer an outcome ofthe performing to the electronic device 101. The electronic device 101may provide the outcome, with or without further processing of theoutcome, as at least part of a reply to the request. To that end, acloud computing, distributed computing, or client-server computingtechnology may be used, for example.

The electronic device according to various embodiments may be one ofvarious types of electronic devices. The electronic devices may include,for example, a portable communication device (e.g., a smartphone), acomputer device, a portable multimedia device, a portable medicaldevice, a camera, a wearable device, or a home appliance. According toan embodiment of the disclosure, the electronic devices are not limitedto those described above.

It should be appreciated that various embodiments of the presentdisclosure and the terms used therein are not intended to limit thetechnological features set forth herein to particular embodiments andinclude various changes, equivalents, or replacements for acorresponding embodiment. With regard to the description of thedrawings, similar reference numerals may be used to refer to similar orrelated elements. It is to be understood that a singular form of a nouncorresponding to an item may include one or more of the things, unlessthe relevant context clearly indicates otherwise. As used herein, eachof such phrases as “A or B,” “at least one of A and B,” “at least one ofA or B,” “A, B, or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” and “at least oneof A, B, or C,” may include any one of, or all possible combinations ofthe items enumerated together in a corresponding one of the phrases. Asused herein, such terms as “1st” and “2nd,” or “first” and “second” maybe used to simply distinguish a corresponding component from another,and does not limit the components in other aspect (e.g., importance ororder). It is to be understood that if an element (e.g., a firstelement) is referred to, with or without the term “operatively” or“communicatively”, as “coupled with,” “coupled to,” “connected with,” or“connected to” another element (e.g., a second element), it means thatthe element may be coupled with the other element directly (e.g.,wiredly), wirelessly, or via a third element.

As used herein, the term “module” may include a unit implemented inhardware, software, or firmware, and may interchangeably be used withother terms, for example, “logic,” “logic block,” “part,” or“circuitry”. A module may be a single integral component, or a minimumunit or part thereof, adapted to perform one or more functions. Forexample, according to an embodiment, the module may be implemented in aform of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

Various embodiments as set forth herein may be implemented as software(e.g., the program 140) including one or more instructions that arestored in a storage medium (e.g., internal memory 136 or external memory138) that is readable by a machine (e.g., the electronic device 101).For example, a processor(e.g., the processor 120) of the machine (e.g.,the electronic device 101) may invoke at least one of the one or moreinstructions stored in the storage medium, and execute it, with orwithout using one or more other components under the control of theprocessor. This allows the machine to be operated to perform at leastone function according to the at least one instruction invoked. The oneor more instructions may include a code generated by a compiler or acode executable by an interpreter. The machine-readable storage mediummay be provided in the form of a non-transitory storage medium. Wherein,the term “non-transitory” simply means that the storage medium is atangible device, and does not include a signal (e.g., an electromagneticwave), but this term does not differentiate between where data issemi-permanently stored in the storage medium and where the data istemporarily stored in the storage medium.

According to an embodiment, a method according to various embodiments ofthe disclosure may be included and provided in a computer programproduct. The computer program product may be traded as a product betweena seller and a buyer. The computer program product may be distributed inthe form of a machine-readable storage medium (e.g., compact disc readonly memory (CD-ROM)), or be distributed (e.g., downloaded or uploaded)online via an application store (e.g., PlayStore™), or between two userdevices (e.g., smart phones) directly. If distributed online, at leastpart of the computer program product may be temporarily generated or atleast temporarily stored in the machine-readable storage medium, such asmemory of the manufacturer's server, a server of the application store,or a relay server.

According to various embodiments, each component (e.g., a module or aprogram) of the above-described components may include a single entityor multiple entities. According to various embodiments, one or more ofthe above-described components may be omitted, or one or more othercomponents may be added. Alternatively or additionally, a plurality ofcomponents (e.g., modules or programs) may be integrated into a singlecomponent. In such a case, according to various embodiments, theintegrated component may still perform one or more functions of each ofthe plurality of components in the same or similar manner as they areperformed by a corresponding one of the plurality of components beforethe integration. According to various embodiments, operations performedby the module, the program, or another component may be carried outsequentially, in parallel, repeatedly, or heuristically, or one or moreof the operations may be executed in a different order or omitted, orone or more other operations may be added.

FIG. 2 illustrates an antenna arrangement for positioning of anelectronic device 201 according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 2 , the electronic device 201 (e.g., the electronicdevice 101 of FIG. 1 ) may determine the position of an externalelectronic device 204 (e.g., the electronic device 104 of FIG. 1 ) usingat least three antennas. For example, the external electronic device 204may be a device (e.g., a tag), which performs any wirelesscommunication, such as a mobile phone, a tablet, a wearable device, ahome appliance, an Internet-of-Things (IoT) device, and the like. Forexample, the electronic device 201 may determine the position of theexternal electronic device 204 (e.g., a position relative to theelectronic device 201) using a first antenna 211, a second antenna 212,and a third antenna 213.

The electronic device 201 may identify the direction of the externalelectronic device 204 (e.g., the direction relative to the electronicdevice 201) using an angle of arrival (AoA) of a signal 220 from theexternal electronic device 204. The electronic device 201 may receivethe signal 220 from the external electronic device 204 using the firstantenna 211 and the second antenna 212, and may identify the angle ofarrival of the signal 220 from the external electronic device 204 (e.g.,the direction of the external electronic device 204) based on the phasedifference between the signal received by the first antenna 211 and thesignal received by the second antenna 212. The electronic device 201 mayidentify the angle of arrival based on the distance between the firstantenna 211 and the second antenna 212 and the phase difference. In thiscase, for example, the distance between the first antenna 211 and thesecond antenna 212 may be set to a specified first distance (e.g., abouthalf a wavelength of the signal 220), for performing beamforming on thesignal 220.

The distance between the electronic device 201 and the externalelectronic device 204 may be identified using the signal 220 from theexternal electronic device 204. The signal 220 from the externalelectronic device 204 may include reception time information and/ortransmission time information. The electronic device 201 may identifythe distance between the electronic device 201 and the externalelectronic device 204 (e.g., a tag) based on time of flight (ToF). Forexample, the signal 220 may include information (e.g., response timeinformation) about the time taken for the external electronic device 204to respond to the signal transmitted by the electronic device 201. Theresponse time information may refer to information about a time takenfrom a timing at which a specific electronic device receives a signalfrom another electronic device until a timing at which the specificelectronic device transmits a response thereto. The electronic device201 may identify the distance between the electronic device 201 and theexternal electronic device 204 by using the time at which the signal istransmitted to the external electronic device 204, information about thetime at which the signal 220 is received, and the response timeinformation.

The signal 220 may include transmission time information (e.g., timestamp) about the time at which the external electronic device 204transmitted the signal 220. The electronic device 201 may identify thedistance between the electronic device 201 and the external electronicdevice 204 using the transmission time information and the time when theelectronic device 201 receives the signal 220.

The electronic device 201 may attempt to identify the position of theexternal electronic device 204 by receiving the signal 220 using thefirst antenna 211 and the second antenna 212. When the externalelectronic device 204 is in position A or position B, using only thefirst antenna 211 and the second antenna 212 may make it difficult forthe electronic device 201 to identify whether the external electronicdevice 204 is in position A or in position B. Position A and position Bmay be symmetric with respect to a vertical axis of a first axis 291between the first antenna 211 and the second antenna 212, and may eachbe at the same distance from the electronic device 201.

The electronic device 201 may use additional information about theexternal electronic device 204 in order to determine the position of theexternal electronic device 204. The electronic device 201 may determinethe position of the external electronic device 204 by combining thepositioning of the external electronic device 204 using the firstantenna 211 and the second antenna 212 and the positioning of theexternal electronic device 204 using the first antenna 211 and the thirdantenna 213.

The electronic device 201 may receive additional information (e.g.,signal and/or data for positioning) from the external electronic device204. The additional information may be included in the signal 220 or maybe included in a different signal. The electronic device 201 mayidentify the direction of the external electronic device 204 (e.g., thedirection relative to the electronic device 201) using the additionalinformation. For example, the electronic device 201 may receive anadditional signal from the external electronic device 204 using thefirst antenna 211 and the third antenna 213, and may identify the angleof arrival of the additional signal from the external electronic device204 (e.g., the direction of the external electronic device 204) based onthe phase difference between the additional signal received by the firstantenna 211 and the additional signal received by the third antenna 213.The electronic device 201 may identify the angle of arrival based on thedistance between the first antenna 211 and the third antenna 213 and thephase difference. In this case, for example, the distance between thefirst antenna 211 and the second antenna 212 may be set to a specifiedfirst distance (e.g., about half a wavelength of the signal includingthe additional information) for performing beamforming on the signalincluding the additional information.

The distance between the electronic device 201 and the externalelectronic device 204 may be identified using the additional informationfrom the external electronic device 204. For example, the additionalinformation may include reception time information, transmission timeinformation, and/or response time information of the external electronicdevice 204 (e.g., time taken for the external electronic device 204 toreceive a signal and respond thereto). The electronic device 201 mayidentify the distance between the electronic device 201 and the externalelectronic device 204 based on time of flight (ToF).

The electronic device 201 may determine the position of the externalelectronic device 204 using additional information. By receivingadditional information using the first antenna 211 and the third antenna213, the electronic device 201 may identify that the external electronicdevice 204 is located at position B or position C. For example, positionB and position C may be symmetric with respect to a vertical axis of asecond axis 292 between the first antenna 211 and the third antenna 213,and each position may be the same distance from the electronic device201.

The electronic device 201 may determine the position of the externalelectronic device 204 based on candidate positions (position A andposition B) identified based on the signal 220 and candidate positions(position B and position C) identified based on the additionalinformation. The electronic device 201 may determine the most frequentcandidate position (e.g., position B), as the position of the externalelectronic device 204. Alternatively, the electronic device 201 maydetermine a region having the highest density of candidate positions asthe position of the external electronic device 204.

In the example of FIG. 2 , the position of the external electronicdevice 204 may be determined based on the results of the positioningbased on the first antenna 211 and the second antenna 212 and thepositioning based on the first antenna 211 and the third antenna 213. Tothis end, the first antenna 211, the second antenna 212, and the thirdantenna 213 may be arranged such that the first axis 291 between thefirst antenna 211 and the second antenna 212 and the second axis 292between the first antenna 211 and the third antenna 213 are not parallelto each other. For example, the first axis 291 may be an axis connectingan arbitrary point of the first antenna 211 (e.g., a central point, anend point, or a feed point) to an arbitrary point of the second antenna212 (e.g., a central point, an end point, or a feed point). For example,the second axis 292 may be an axis connecting an arbitrary point of thefirst antenna 211 (e.g., the central point, an end point, or the feedpoint) to an arbitrary point of the third antenna 213 (e.g., a centralpoint, an end point, or a feed point).

In addition, the first antenna 211 and the second antenna 212 may bedisposed within a first distance of each other, and the first antenna211 and the third antenna 213 may be disposed within the first distanceof each other. The first antenna 211 used in both positionings may belocated between the second antenna 212 and the third antenna 213.

FIG. 3 illustrates an antenna arrangement for positioning of theelectronic device 201 according to an embodiment.

The electronic device 201 may include, for example, positiondetermination means for determining the position of the externalelectronic device 204. For example, the position determination means maydetermine the position of the external electronic device 204 accordingto various examples to be described below with reference to FIG. 3 .Hereinafter, various position determination means may performpositioning using various antennas. The antennas may be referred to, forexample, as signal transmitting and receiving means.

Referring to FIG. 3 , the electronic device 201 may identify thedirection of the external electronic device 204 (e.g., the directionrelative to the electronic device 201) using an angle of arrival (AoA)of the signal 220 from the external electronic device 204. The distancebetween the electronic device 201 and the external electronic device 204may be identified using the signal 220 from the external electronicdevice 204. The electronic device 201 may identify the distance betweenthe electronic device 201 and the external electronic device 204 basedon time of flight (ToF).

As described above with reference to FIG. 2 , the electronic device 201may estimate the position (position A or position B) of the externalelectronic device 204 by using the signal 220 received through the firstantenna 211 and the second antenna 212. The electronic device 201 mayalso determine the position of the external electronic device 204 usingadditional information. In the example of FIG. 3 , the first antenna 211and the second antenna 212 may be located within a specified firstdistance (e.g., about half a wavelength of the signal 220).

The electronic device 201 may receive additional information from theexternal electronic device 204 using the third antenna 213. Theadditional information may be included in the signal 220 or may beincluded in a different signal. The additional information may includereception time information, transmission time information, and/orresponse time information (e.g., response processing time of theexternal electronic device 201). The electronic device 201 may identifythe distance between the electronic device 201 and the externalelectronic device 204 based on ToF.

The electronic device 201 may identify the distance between theelectronic device 201 and the external electronic device 204 based onthe additional information received using the third antenna 213. Theelectronic device 201 may determine the position of the externalelectronic device 204 using both the additional information and thesignal 220. For example, the electronic device 201 may determine, amongcandidate positions (position A and position B) of the externalelectronic device 204, the position corresponding to the distanceidentified based on the additional information, as the position of theexternal electronic device 204.

In the example of FIG. 3 , the position of the external electronicdevice 204 may be determined based on the results of the positioningbased on the first antenna 211 and the second antenna 212 and thepositioning based on the third antenna 213. To this end, the firstantenna 211, the second antenna 212, and the third antenna 213 may bearranged such that the first axis 291 between the first antenna 211 andthe second antenna 212 and the second axis 292 between the first antenna211 and the third antenna 213 are not parallel to each other. Forexample, the first axis 291 may be an axis connecting an arbitrary point(e.g., the central point, the end point, or the feed point) of the firstantenna 211 to an arbitrary point (e.g., a central point, an end point,or a feed point) of the second antenna 212. For example, the second axis292 may be an axis connecting an arbitrary point (e.g., the centralpoint, an end point, or the feed point) of the first antenna 211 to anarbitrary point (e.g., the central point, the end point, or the feedpoint) of the third antenna 213.

In addition, the third antenna 213 may be disposed to be spaced apartfrom the first antenna 211 and/or the second antenna 212 by a specifieddistance d (e.g., a second distance) or more.

For example, the specified distance may be set based on the resolutionor length of the wavelength of the signal received from the externalelectronic device 204. For example, if a theoretical error distance ofthe signal used for positioning is d, the third antenna 213 may bespaced apart from the first antenna and/or the second antenna 212 by adistance d or more. For example, the distance d may be about 10 cm.

FIG. 4 illustrates an antenna arrangement for positioning of theelectronic device 201 according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 4 , the electronic device 201 may be a foldabledevice. For example, the electronic device 201 may include a firstportion 221 and a second portion 222, and the first portion 221 and thesecond portion 222 may be unfolded or folded. When the electronic device201 is unfolded, the electronic device 201 may have a hardware form thatallows the first antenna 211, the second antenna 212, and the thirdantenna 213 to be arranged to be spaced apart at a specified distance ormore (e.g., the distance d of FIG. 3 ). For example, the first antenna211 and the second antenna 212 may be spaced apart by a first distanced1 (e.g., the d1 is d or more), the first antenna 211 and the thirdantenna 213 may be spaced apart by a second distance d2 (e.g., the d2 isd or more), and the second antenna 212 and the third antenna 213 may bespaced apart by a third distance d3 (e.g., the d3 is d or more). In theexample of FIG. 4 , since the first antenna 211, the second antenna 212,and the third antenna 213 are spaced apart, by a significant distance,based on the resolution, a distance measurement result using eachantenna may have a significant difference. The electronic device 201 maydetermine the position of the external electronic device 204 by usingthe distance measurement result of the external electronic device 204using the first antenna 211, the distance measurement result of theexternal electronic device 204 using the second antenna 212, and thedistance measurement result of the external electronic device 204 usingthe third antenna 213. For example, the electronic device 201 maydetermine the position of the external electronic device 204 based ontriangulation.

FIG. 5 illustrates antennas of the electronic device according to anembodiment.

FIG. 5 may be a schematic diagram of the electronic device 201 when thebackplate of the electronic device 201 is removed and the electronicdevice 201 is viewed from behind.

Referring to FIG. 5 , the electronic device 201 may include variousantennas. For example, a camera 560 may be a rear camera of theelectronic device 201.

The electronic device 201 may include an antenna 551, an antenna 552, anantenna 553, an antenna 554, and an antenna 555. The antenna 551 and theantenna 552 may be, for example, conductive patterns on a printedcircuit board (PCB) 540. The antenna 553 and the antenna 555 may beantennas positioned on the side bezel of the electronic device 201 andformed by a slit of the side bezel. For another example, the antenna 553and the antenna 555 may correspond to at least a portion of a metalportion forming a side surface of the electronic device 201. The antenna554 may be, for example, an antenna attached to the backplate of theelectronic device 201.

For example, the antenna 551 and the antenna 552 may be metallicantennas generated by laser direct structuring (LDS). The antenna 553may be a metallic antenna, and may be a monopole, dipole, or patchantenna. For example, the antenna 553 may be an antenna used for both afirst communication protocol (e.g., UWB communication) and a secondcommunication protocol (e.g., WiFi and/or Bluetooth).

Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 5 , for example, the antenna 553 maycorrespond to the first antenna 211 in FIG. 2 , the antenna 552 maycorrespond to the second antenna 212 in FIG. 2 , and the antenna 551 maycorrespond to the third antenna 213 in FIG. 2 .

Referring to FIG. 3 and FIG. 5 , for example, the antenna 552 or theantenna 553 may correspond to the first antenna 211 in FIG. 3 , theantenna 551 may correspond to the second antenna 212 in FIG. 3 , and theantenna 554 or the antenna 555 may correspond to the third antenna 213.

The antennas illustrated in FIG. 5 are exemplary, and embodiments of thepresent disclosure are not limited thereto. For example, the antennasillustrated in FIG. 5 may be any conductive radiator. Examples of theantennas of FIG. 5 may include at least one of a metal radiator, a laserdirect structuring (LDS) antenna, a conductive pattern on a flexibleprinted circuit board (FPCB), or a steel use stainless (SUS) antenna.For example, the antennas of FIG. 5 may include at least one of adipole, monopole, or patch antenna.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of the electronic device 201according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 6 , the electronic device 201 may perform positioningusing three antennas associated with a first communication processor691. In the example of FIG. 6 , the electronic device 201 may performpositioning through switching between the second antenna 682 and thethird antenna 683, a first communication circuit 661, and antennas 681to 683.

According to an embodiment, the electronic device 201 may include thefirst communication processor 691 (e.g., the communication module 190 ofFIG. 1 ), a processor 620 (e.g., the processor 120 of FIG. 1 )electrically connected to the first communication processor 691, and amemory 630 (e.g., the memory 130 of FIG. 1 ). For example, the memory630 may store one or more instructions to perform operations of thefirst communication processor 691 and/or the processor 620 to bedescribed below.

The first communication processor 691 may be electrically connected tothe first antenna 681 (e.g., the first antenna 211 of FIG. 2 ). Thefirst antenna 681 may be connected to a transmission path or a receptionpath of the first communication processor 691 via the first switch 671.The first switch 671 may selectively connect the first antenna 681 tothe transmission path or the reception path. For example, the firstcommunication processor 691 may control the first switch 671.

The first communication processor 691 may be connected with the secondantenna 682 (e.g., the second antenna 212 of FIG. 2 ) or the thirdantenna 683 (e.g., the third antenna 213 of FIG. 2 ). The second antenna682 may be connected to the reception path of the first communicationprocessor 691 via the second switch 672, or the third antenna 683 may beconnected to the reception path of the first communication processor 691via the second switch 672. The second switch 672 may selectively connectthe second antenna 682 or the third antenna 683 to the firstcommunication processor 691. The first switch 671 and/or the secondswitch 672 may be referred to as switching means. The switching meansmay selectively connect signal transmitting and receiving means (e.g.,the first antenna 681, the second antenna 682, and/or the third antenna683) to the first communication processor 691 (e.g., communicationmeans). For example, the first communication processor 691 may controlthe second switch 672. The first communication processor 691 may beconfigured to communicate with the external electronic device based on afirst protocol (e.g., ultra wideband (UWB) communication).

In the example of FIG. 6 , radio frequency elements including the firstswitch 671 and the second switch 672 may be referred to as a firstcommunication circuit 661. For example, the first communication circuit661 may include various RF elements present between the firstcommunication processor 691 and the antennas 681, 682, and 683. Forexample, the first communication circuit 661 may include a filter, anamplifier, and a phase shifter.

In the example of FIG. 6 , the first communication processor 691 mayhave a limited number of ports. For example, the first communicationprocessor 691 may include one source port and two destination ports. Forexample, in order to overcome a functional limitation due to the limitednumber of ports, the electronic device 201 may include the firstcommunication circuit 661. The configuration of the first communicationcircuit 661 of FIG. 6 is exemplary, and embodiments of the presentdisclosure are not limited thereto. For example, the first communicationprocessor 691 may include more ports than those illustrated in FIG. 6 .For example, each of the second antenna 682 and the third antenna 683may be connected to the first communication processor 691 via separateports. For another example, at least one of the second antenna 682 andthe third antenna 683 may be connected to the first communicationprocessor 691 via the source port and the destination port.

The first communication processor 691 may transmit the first signal toan external electronic device (e.g., the external electronic device 204of FIG. 2 ) using the first antenna 681. For example, the firstcommunication processor 691 may transmit the first signal in response tothe signal received from the external electronic device 204. The firstcommunication processor 691 may connect the first antenna 681 to thetransmission path of the first communication processor 691 using thefirst switch 671, and may transmit the first signal to the externalelectronic device 204 using the first antenna 681. The first signal mayinclude first data. The first data may include transmission timeinformation, reception time information, and/or response timeinformation. The transmission time information may include informationabout the time at which the electronic device 201 transmits the firstsignal, the reception time information may include information about thetime at which the electronic device 201 received a signal from theexternal electronic device 204, and the response time information mayinclude information about the time taken for the external electronicdevice 204 to deal with the response signal.

The first communication processor 691 may receive, using the firstantenna 681 and the third antenna 683, a fourth signal including fourthdata from the external electronic device. The first communicationprocessor 691 may connect the first antenna 681 to the reception path ofthe first communication processor 691 using the first switch 671, andmay connect the second antenna 682 to the reception path of the firstcommunication processor 691 using the second switch 672. The firstcommunication processor 691 and/or the processor 620 may identify aphase difference between the second signal received by the first antenna681 and the second signal received by the second antenna 682. The firstcommunication processor 691 and/or the processor 620 may acquire timeinformation (e.g., the time when the external electronic device 204transmits the second signal, the time when the external electronicdevice 204 receives the first signal, and/or the response time taken forthe external electronic device 204 to transmit the second signal afterreceiving the first signal) included in the second data.

The first communication processor 691 may transmit a third signal to anexternal electronic device (e.g., the external electronic device 204 ofFIG. 2 ) using the first antenna 681. For example, the firstcommunication processor 691 may transmit the third signal in response tothe signal received from the external electronic device 204. The firstcommunication processor 691 may connect the first antenna 681 to thetransmission path of the first communication processor 691 using thefirst switch 671, and may transmit the third signal to the externalelectronic device 204 using the first antenna 681. The third signal mayinclude third data. The third data may include transmission timeinformation of the third signal, reception time information of thepreviously received signal, and/or response time information.

The first communication processor 691 may receive, using the firstantenna 681 and the third antenna 683, a fourth signal including fourthdata from the external electronic device. The first communicationprocessor 691 may connect the first antenna 681 to the reception path ofthe first communication processor 691 using the first switch 671, andmay connect the third antenna 683 to the reception path of the firstcommunication processor 691 using the second switch 672. The firstcommunication processor 691 and/or the processor 620 may identify aphase difference between the fourth signal received by the first antenna681 and the fourth signal received by the third antenna 683. The firstcommunication processor 691 and/or the processor 620 may acquire timeinformation included in the fourth data (e.g., the time when theexternal electronic device 204 transmits the fourth signal, the timewhen the external electronic device 204 receives the third signal,and/or the time taken for the external electronic device 204 to transmitthe fourth signal after receiving the third signal).

The first communication processor 691 and/or the processor 620 maydetermine the position of the external electronic device 204 based onthe phase difference and time information of the second data and thephase difference and time information of the fourth data. For example,the first communication processor 691 and/or the processor 620 maydetermine the position of the external electronic device based on thephase difference and time information based on the second signal and thefourth signal. For example, the first communication processor 691 and/orthe processor 620 may determine the position commonly identified by thesecond signal and the fourth signal as the position of the externalelectronic device 204.

The configurations of the electronic device 201 illustrated in FIG. 6are exemplary, and embodiments of the present disclosure are not limitedthereto. For example, each switch may be replaced with a differentconfiguration (e.g., a coupler).

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of the electronic device 201according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 7 , in addition to the components illustrated in FIG.6 , the electronic device 201 includes a second communication processor692 and a second communication circuit 662 including a third switch 773,which is connected to a fourth antenna 781.

The electronic device 201 may perform positioning using two antennasassociated with the first communication processor 691 and a fourthantenna 781 associated with a second communication processor 692. In theexample of FIG. 7 , the electronic device 201 may perform positioningthrough switching between the second antenna 682 and the fourth antenna781. In the example of FIG. 7 , the fourth antenna 781 may be shared bythe first communication processor 691 and the second communicationprocessor 692.

The fourth antenna 781 of FIG. 7 may be selectively connected to thefirst communication processor 691 or the second communication processor692. For example, the second communication processor 692 may beconfigured to communicate with an external electronic device based on asecond protocol (e.g., Bluetooth, cellular, and/or Wi-Fi) different fromthe first protocol. Hereinafter, unless otherwise described, thedescriptions above with reference to FIG. 6 may be applied to FIG. 7 aswell. For example, the memory 630 may store one or more instructions toperform operations of the first communication processor 691, the secondcommunication processor 692, and/or the processor 620 to be describedbelow.

The electronic device 201 may further include the second communicationprocessor 692 (e.g., the communication module 190 of FIG. 1 ). Forexample, the second communication processor 692 may be connected withthe fourth antenna 781 via the second communication circuit 662. Thesecond communication circuit 662 may include a third switch 773. Thethird switch 773 may connect the fourth antenna 781 to the receptionpath of the first communication processor 691 via the second switch 772,or may connect the fourth antenna 781 to the second communicationprocessor 692. The third switch 773 may selectively connect the fourthantenna 781 to the first communication processor 691 or the secondcommunication processor 692. For example, the third switch 773 may becontrolled by the first communication processor 691 and/or the secondcommunication processor 692.

The electronic device 201 may determine the position of the externalelectronic device 204 based on the positioning using the first antenna681 and the second antenna 682 and the positioning using the firstantenna 681 and the fourth antenna 781 (e.g., used similarly to thethird antenna 683 of FIG. 6 ), as is described above with reference toFIG. 6 . In the example of FIG. 7 , the first communication processor691 may use an antenna used by another communication module (e.g., thesecond communication processor 692). The structure of the electronicdevice 201 of FIG. 7 is exemplary, and embodiments of the presentdisclosure are not limited thereto. For example, the second switch 772and the third switch 773 may be implemented as one switch.

FIG. 8 a illustrates a block diagram of the electronic device 201according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 8 a , the electronic device 201 is similar to FIG. 7 ,except that the second communication circuit 662 includes a secondswitch 872, which is connected to a fourth antenna 781, and a thirdswitch 873, which is connected to a fifth antenna 782. The electronicdevice 201 may perform positioning using the first antenna 681associated with the first communication processor 691 and the fourthantenna 781 and a fifth antenna 782 associated with the secondcommunication processor 692. In the example of FIG. 8 a , the electronicdevice 201 may perform positioning through switching between the fourthantenna 781 and the fifth antenna 782. In the example of FIG. 8 a , thefourth antenna 781 and the fifth antenna 782 may be shared by the firstcommunication processor 691 and the second communication processor 692.

With reference to FIG. 8 a , unless otherwise described, described,descriptions of components having the same reference numbers as thosedescribed above with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 may operate as describedwith reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 .

In the example of FIG. 8 a , the second switch 872 may connect thefourth antenna 781 to the second communication processor 692 or thefirst communication processor 691. The third switch 873 may connect thefifth antenna 782 to the second communication processor 692 or the firstcommunication processor 691. For example, the first communicationprocessor 691 and/or the second communication processor 692 may controlthe second switch 872 and/or the third switch 873. In the example ofFIG. 8 a , the fourth antenna 781 may correspond to the second antenna682 of FIG. 6 , and the fifth antenna 782 may correspond to the thirdantenna 683 of FIG. 6 . Therefore, in a similar manner to that describedabove with reference to FIG. 6 , the electronic device 201 may determinethe position of the external electronic device 204.

The structure of the electronic device 201 of FIG. 8 a is exemplary, andembodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto. Forexample, in FIG. 8 a , the fourth antenna 781 and the fifth antenna 782are connected to separate destination ports of the first communicationprocessor 691, but the fourth antenna 781 and the fifth antenna 782 maybe connected to the same destination port of the first communicationprocessor 691.

FIG. 8 b illustrates a block diagram of the electronic device 201according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 8 b , the first communication processor 691 and thesecond communication processor 692 may share all antennas.

With reference to FIG. 8 b , unless otherwise described, the componentshaving the same reference numbers as those described above withreference to FIGS. 6, 7, and 8 a may operate as described with referenceto FIGS. 6, 7, and 8 a.

In the example of FIG. 8 a , the first switch 871 may connect the firstantenna 881 or the third antenna 883 to the first communicationprocessor 691 under the control of the first communication processor 691and/or the second communication processor 692. The third switch 873 mayconnect the third antenna 883 to the first communication processor 691or the second communication processor 692 under the control of the firstcommunication processor 691 and/or the second communication processor692. For example, the first switch 871 and the third switch 873 may beimplemented as one switch.

The second switch 872 may connect the second antenna 882 or the fourthantenna 884 to the first communication processor 691 under the controlof the first communication processor 691 and/or the second communicationprocessor 692. The fourth switch 875 may selectively connect the fourthantenna 884 to the first communication processor 691 or the secondcommunication processor 692. For example, the second switch 872 and thefourth switch 874 may be implemented as one switch.

For example, in the example of FIG. 8 b , the first antenna 881 or thethird antenna 883 may correspond to the first antenna 681 of FIG. 6 .The second antenna 882 may correspond to the second antenna 682 of FIG.6 , and the fourth antenna 884 may correspond to the third antenna 683of FIG. 6 . Therefore, in a similar manner to that described above withreference to FIG. 6 , the electronic device 201 may determine theposition of the external electronic device 204.

For another example, in the example of FIG. 8 b , the second antenna 882or the fourth antenna 884 may correspond to the second antenna 212 ofFIG. 3 . The first antenna 881 may correspond to the first antenna 211of FIG. 3 , and the third antenna 883 may correspond to the thirdantenna 213 of FIG. 3 . According to a method with reference to FIG. 9to be described below, the electronic device 201 may determine theposition of the external electronic device 204.

FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of the electronic device 201according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 9 , the electronic device 201 includes the firstcommunication processor 691, the processor 620 electrically connected tothe first communication processor 691, the memory 630, the firstcommunication circuit 661, which includes the first switch 671, andantennas 681 to 683.

The memory 630 may store one or more instructions to perform operationsof the first communication processor 691 and/or the processor 620 to bedescribed below. The first communication processor 691 may be configuredto communicate with the external electronic device based on the firstprotocol (e.g., ultra wideband (UWB) communication).

The first communication processor 691 may be electrically connected withthe first antenna 681 (e.g., the first antenna 211 of FIG. 3 ) or thethird antenna 683 (e.g., the third antenna 213 of FIG. 3 ). The firstantenna 681 may be connected to the transmission path or the receptionpath of the first communication processor 691 via the first switch 671.The third antenna 683 may be connected to the transmission path or thereception path of the first communication processor 691 via the firstswitch 671. The first switch 671 may selectively connect one of thefirst antenna 681 and the third antenna 683 to the transmission path orthe reception path under the control of the first communicationprocessor 691.

The first communication processor 691 may be electrically connected tothe second antenna 682 (e.g., the second antenna 212 of FIG. 3 ). Thesecond antenna 682 may be connected to the reception path of the firstcommunication processor 691.

In the example of FIG. 9 , the first communication processor 691 mayhave a limited number of ports. For example, the first communicationprocessor 691 may include one source port and two destination ports. Forexample, in order to overcome a functional limitation due to the limitednumber of ports, the electronic device 201 may include the firstcommunication circuit 661. The configuration of the first communicationcircuit 661 of FIG. 9 is exemplary, and embodiments of the presentdisclosure are not limited thereto.

The first communication processor 691 may transmit the first signal toan external electronic device (e.g., the external electronic device 204of FIG. 3 ) using the first antenna 681. For example, the firstcommunication processor 691 may transmit the first signal in response tothe signal received from the external electronic device 204. The firstcommunication processor 691 may connect the first antenna 681 to thetransmission path of the first communication processor 691 using thefirst switch 671, and may transmit the first signal to the externalelectronic device 204 using the first antenna 681. The first signal mayinclude first data. The first data may include transmission timeinformation, reception time information, and/or response timeinformation. The transmission time information may include informationabout the time at which the electronic device 201 transmits the firstsignal, the reception time information may include information about thetime at which the electronic device 201 has previously received a signalfrom the external electronic device 204, and the response timeinformation may include information about the time taken from when theelectronic device 201 has received a signal from the external electronicdevice 204 until it transmits the first signal.

The first communication processor 691 may receive the second signalincluding second data from the external electronic device 204 using thefirst antenna 681 and the second antenna 682. The first communicationprocessor 691 may connect the first antenna 681 to the reception path ofthe first communication processor 691 using the first switch 671, andmay receive the second signal using the first antenna 681 and the secondantenna 682. The first communication processor 691 and/or the processor620 may identify a phase difference between the second signal receivedby the first antenna 681 and the second signal received by the secondantenna 682. The first communication processor 691 and/or the processor620 may acquire time information included in the second data (e.g., thetime when the external electronic device 204 transmits the secondsignal, the time when the external electronic device 204 receives thefirst signal, and/or the time taken for the external electronic device204 to transmit the second signal after receiving the first signal).

The first communication processor 691 may transmit the third signal toan external electronic device (e.g., the external electronic device 204of FIG. 2 ) using the third antenna 683. For example, the firstcommunication processor 691 may transmit the third signal in response tothe signal received from the external electronic device 204. The firstcommunication processor 691 may connect the third antenna 683 to thetransmission path of the first communication processor 691 using thefirst switch 671, and may connect the third signal to the externalelectronic device 204 using the third antenna 683. The third signal mayinclude the third data. The third data may include transmission timeinformation of the third signal, reception time information of thepreviously received signal, and/or information about the time taken totransmit the third signal (response).

The first communication processor 691 may receive the fourth signalincluding the fourth data from the external electronic device 204 usingthe third antenna 683. The first communication processor 691 may connectthe third antenna 683 to the reception path of the first communicationprocessor 691 using the first switch 671. The first communicationprocessor 691 and/or the processor 620 may acquire time informationincluded in the fourth data of the fourth signal received by the thirdantenna 683 (e.g., the time when the external electronic device 204transmits the fourth signal, the time when the external electronicdevice 204 receives the third signal, and/or the time taken for theexternal electronic device 204 to transmit the fourth signal afterreceiving the third signal).

The first communication processor 691 and/or the processor 620 maydetermine the position of the external electronic device from the phasedifference and time information based on the second signal and timeinformation based on the fourth signal.

The components of the electronic device 201 illustrated in FIG. 9 areexemplary, and embodiments of the present disclosure are not limitedthereto. For example, each switch may be replaced with a differentconfiguration (e.g., coupler).

A positioning method related to FIG. 3 for the electronic device 201described above with reference to FIG. 9 may be performed by theelectronic device 201 having a different structure. For example, similarto the example of FIG. 7 , the third antenna 683 may be selectivelyconnected to the second communication processor (e.g., the secondcommunication processor 692 of FIG. 7 ) or the first communicationprocessor 691. For another example, the second antenna 682 may beselectively connected to the second communication processor (e.g., thesecond communication processor 692 of FIG. 7 ) or the firstcommunication processor 691.

As described above with reference to FIG. 6 to FIG. 8 b , thepositioning method of the electronic device 201 of FIG. 2 may beperformed by the electronic device 201 in which the second antenna(e.g., the second antenna 212 in FIG. 2 ) or the third antenna (e.g.,the third antenna 213 in FIG. 2 ) is selectively connected to thereception path. As described above with reference to FIG. 9 , thepositioning method of the electronic device 201 of FIG. 3 may beperformed by the electronic device 201 in which the first antenna (e.g.,the first antenna 211 of FIG. 3 ) or the third antenna (e.g., the thirdantenna 213 of FIG. 3 ) is selectively connected to the transmissionpath.

For the electronic device 201 of FIG. 4 , the electronic device 201 maytransmit a signal for positioning using each of the first antenna 211,the second antenna 212, and the third antenna 213. In this case, thefirst communication circuit 661 may include separate transmission pathsfor each of the first antenna 211, the second antenna 212, and the thirdantenna 213.

FIG. 10 a illustrates a signal flow diagram 1000 of a positiondetermination method according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 10 a , the electronic device 201 may include a firstantenna 1001 (e.g., the first antenna 211 in FIG. 2 ) and a secondantenna 1002 (e.g., the second antenna 212 in FIG. 2 ), and a thirdantenna (e.g., the third antenna 213 of FIG. 2 ). For example, theelectronic device 201 may having a similar structure as described abovewith reference to any of FIG. 6 to FIG. 8 b.

In operation 1005, the electronic device 201 may receive first data fromthe external electronic device 204 using the first antenna 1001 and/orthe second antenna 1002. For example, the electronic device 201 mayreceive a first signal including the first data. The first signal may bea signal for polling of the electronic device 201. For example, thefirst data may include transmission time information about the time atwhich the external electronic device 204 transmits the first signal. Thefirst data may include channel identification information. The firstdata may include information for timing synchronization between theexternal electronic device 204 and the electronic device 201.

In operation 1010, the electronic device 201 may transmit a firstresponse to the external electronic device 204 using the first antenna1001. For example, the electronic device 201 may include, in the firstresponse, information (e.g., the transmission time, the reception time,and/or the response time) about the time when the first response istransmitted.

In operation 1015, the electronic device 201 may receive second datafrom the external electronic device 204 using the first antenna 1001 andthe second antenna 1002. For example, the electronic device 201 mayreceive the second signal including the second data. The second data mayinclude information (e.g., response time) about the time at which theexternal electronic device 204 transmits the second signal. The seconddata may further include, for example, a channel identifier, informationabout the time at which the external electronic device 204 transmits thefirst data, and/or information about the time at which the externalelectronic device 204 received the first response.

For example, the electronic device 201 may perform operation 1005,operation 1010, and operation 1015 according to two way ranging (TWR) ofthe UWB standard (e.g., the Institute of Electrical and ElectronicsEngineers (IEEE) 802.15.4a standard).

In operation 1020, the electronic device 201 may identify candidatepositions of the external electronic device 204. For example, theelectronic device 201 may identify candidate directions of the externalelectronic device 204 based on the phase difference of the second signalreceived using the first antenna 1001 and the second antenna 1002 inoperation 1015. For example, the electronic device 201 may identify thedistance between the electronic device 201 and the external electronicdevice 204 using the second data. The electronic device 201 maydetermine the distance between the electronic device 201 and theexternal electronic device 204 based on the ToF. For example, theelectronic device 204 may identify candidate positions of the externalelectronic device 204 based on the candidate directions and thedistance.

Alternatively, operation 1020 may be omitted. Pieces of informationbased on the second data may be used for the determination of theexternal electronic device together with pieces of information based onfourth data to be described later. In this case, the electronic device201 may omit operation 1020, and may use pieces of information acquiredin operation 1005 to operation 1015, later in operation 1040 instead.

For example, operation 1005, operation 1010, operation 1015, andoperation 1020 may be referred to as a first positioning 1091. Theelectronic device 201 may perform the first positioning 1091 byreceiving a signal from the external electronic device 204 using aplurality of antennas. It is to be understood that the first positioning1091 simultaneously performs AoA measurement and ranging (e.g., two wayranging (TWR)) using the first antenna 1001 and the second antenna 1002.

In operation 1025, the electronic device 201 may receive third data fromthe external electronic device 204 using the first antenna 1001 and/orthe third antenna 1003. For example, the electronic device 201 may allowthe third antenna 1003 to be connected to the communication processor bycontrolling a wireless communication circuit associated with thecommunication processor. For example, the electronic device 201 mayreceive the third signal including the third data. The third signal maybe a signal for polling of the electronic device 201. For example, thethird data may include transmission time information about the time whenthe external electronic device 204 transmits the third signal. The thirddata may include channel identification information. The third data mayinclude information for timing synchronization between the externalelectronic device 204 and the electronic device 201.

In operation 1030, the electronic device 201 may transmit a secondresponse to the external electronic device 204 using the first antenna1001. For example, the electronic device 201 may include, in the secondresponse, information (e.g., response time information) about the timewhen the second response is transmitted.

In operation 1035, the electronic device 201 may receive the fourth datafrom the external electronic device 204 using the first antenna 1001 andthe third antenna 1003. For example, the electronic device 201 mayreceive the fourth signal including the fourth data. The fourth data mayinclude information (e.g., response time information) about the timewhen the external electronic device 204 transmits the fourth signal. Thefourth data may further include, for example, a channel identifier,information about the time when the external electronic device 204transmits the third data, and/or information about the time when theexternal electronic device 204 receives the second response.

For example, the electronic device 201 may perform operation 1025,operation 1030, and operation 1035 according to the two way ranging(TWR) of the UWB standard.

In operation 1040, the electronic device 201 may determine the positionof the external electronic device 204. For example, the electronicdevice 201 may identify candidate directions of the external electronicdevice 204 based on the phase difference of the fourth signal receivedusing the first antenna 1001 and the third antenna 1003 in operation1035. For example, the electronic device 201 may identify the distancebetween the electronic device 201 and the external electronic device 204using the fourth data. The electronic device 201 may determine thedistance between the electronic device 201 and the external electronicdevice 204 based on the ToF. For example, the electronic device 204 maydetermine one of the candidate positions identified in operation 1020 asthe position of the external electronic device 204, based on thecandidate directions and the distance. For another example, theelectronic device 201 may determine the position of the externalelectronic device 204 based on the direction and the distance estimatedfrom the second data and the direction and the distance estimated fromthe fourth data.

For example, operation 1025, operation 1030, operation 1035, andoperation 1040 may be referred to as a second positioning 1092. Theelectronic device 201 may perform the second positioning 1092 byreceiving a signal from the external electronic device 204 using aplurality of antennas. It is to be understood that the secondpositioning 1092 simultaneously performs AoA measurement and ranging(e.g., two way ranging (TWR)) using the first antenna 1001 and the thirdantenna 1003.

In the example of FIG. 10 a , the external electronic device 204 isillustrated to transmit a polling signal (e.g., first data and thirddata); however, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limitedthereto. For example, the electronic device 201 may transmit a pollingsignal to the external electronic device 204. In this case, thetransmitting and receiving ends of FIG. 10 a may be changed with eachother. For example, in operation 1005, the electronic device 201 maytransmit the first data to the external electronic device 204 using thefirst antenna 1001 and/or the second antenna 1002. In this case, theelectronic device 201 may receive the first response from the externalelectronic device 204 using the first antenna 1001 and the secondantenna 1002. The first response may include information (e.g., responsetime information) about the time taken for the external electronicdevice 204 to transmit the first response after receiving the firstdata. The electronic device 201 may determine the distance between theelectronic device 201 and the external electronic device 204 based onthe transmission time of the first data, the reception time of the firstresponse time, and the response time information. Furthermore, theelectronic device 201 may acquire information about the phase differencebetween the first antenna 1001 and the second antenna 1002, which areassociated with the reception of the first response. For positioning ofthe external electronic device 204, in operation 1015, the electronicdevice 201 may transmit the second data to the external electronicdevice 204. For example, in operation 1025, the electronic device 201may transmit the third data (e.g., polling) to the external electronicdevice using the first antenna 1001 and/or the third antenna 1003. Inoperation 1030, the electronic device 201 may receive the secondresponse using the first antenna 1001 and the third antenna 1003. Thesecond response may include information (e.g., response timeinformation) about the time taken for the external electronic device 204to transmit the second response after receiving the third data. Theelectronic device 201 may determine the distance between the electronicdevice 201 and the external electronic device 204 based on thetransmission time of the third data, the reception time of the secondresponse time, and the response time information. Furthermore, theelectronic device 201 may acquire information about the phase differencebetween the first antenna 1001 and the third antenna 1003, which areassociated with the reception of the second response. For positioning ofthe external electronic device 204, in operation 1035, the electronicdevice 201 may transmit the fourth data to the external electronicdevice 204. In operation 1040, the electronic device 201 may determinethe position of the external electronic device based on the phasedifference associated with the reception of the first response, the timeinformation associated with the first response, the phase differenceassociated with the reception of the second response, and the timeinformation associated with the second response. For example, theelectronic device 201 may determine the position of the externalelectronic device 204 according to various methods to be described belowwith reference to FIG. 10 b and FIG. 10 c.

FIG. 10 b illustrates a signal flow diagram 1050 of the positiondetermination method according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 10 b , the electronic device 201 may include the firstantenna 1001 (e.g., the first antenna 211 in FIG. 2 ) and the secondantenna 1002 (e.g., the second antenna 212 in FIG. 2 ), and the thirdantenna (e.g., the third antenna 213 of FIG. 2 ). For example, theelectronic device 201 may be an electronic device having the structuredescribed above with reference to FIG. 6 to FIG. 8 b.

In operation 1051, the electronic device 201 may transmit first data tothe external electronic device 204 using the first antenna 1001. Forexample, the electronic device 201 may transmit a first signal includingthe first data. The first signal may be a signal for polling of theexternal electronic device 204. The first data may include channelidentification information. The first data may include information fortiming synchronization between the external electronic device 204 andthe electronic device 201.

In operation 1053, the electronic device 201 may receive a firstresponse from the external electronic device 204 using the first antenna1001 and the second antenna 1002. For example, the first response mayinclude response time information. The response time information mayinclude information about the time taken from when the externalelectronic device 204 receives the first data until it transmits thefirst response.

In operation 1055, the electronic device 201 may transmit second data tothe external electronic device 204 using the first antenna 1001. Forexample, the electronic device 201 may transmit a second signalincluding the second data. The second signal may be a signal for pollingof the external electronic device 204. The second data may includechannel identification information. The second data may includeinformation for timing synchronization between the external electronicdevice 204 and the electronic device 201.

In operation 1057, the electronic device 201 may receive a secondresponse from the external electronic device 204 using the first antenna1001 and the third antenna 1003. For example, the second response mayinclude response time information. The response time information mayinclude information about the time taken from when the externalelectronic device 204 receives the second data until it transmits thesecond response.

For example, the electronic device 201 may perform operation 1051 tooperation 1057 according to the single sided-TWR (SS-TWR) of the UWBstandard (e.g., the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers(IEEE) 802.15.4a standard). For example, operation 1051 and operation1053 may be referred to as a first positioning 1093. The electronicdevice 201 may perform the first positioning 1093 by receiving a signalfrom the external electronic device 204 using a plurality of antennas.It is to be understood that the first positioning 1093 simultaneouslyperforms AoA measurement and ranging (e.g., SS-TWR) using the firstantenna 1001 and the second antenna 1002. Operation 1055 and operation1057 may be referred to as a second positioning 1094. The electronicdevice 201 may perform the second positioning 1094 by receiving a signalfrom the external electronic device 204 using a plurality of antennas.It is to be understood that the second positioning 1094 simultaneouslyperforms AoA measurement and ranging (e.g., SS-TWR) using the firstantenna 1001 and the third antenna 1003.

In operation 1059, the electronic device 201 may determine the positionof the external electronic device 204 using the first response and thesecond response. For example, the electronic device 201 may determinethe position of the external electronic device 204 based on a firstphase difference between the first antenna 1001 and the second antenna1002, which are associated with the reception of the first response,first response time information included in the first response, a secondphase difference between the first antenna 1001 and the third antenna1003, which are associated with the reception of the second response,and second response time information included in the second response.The electronic device 201 may determine the position of the externalelectronic device 204 based on candidate directions based on the firstphase difference, the first distance based on the first response timeinformation, candidate directions based on the second phase difference,and the second distance base on the second response time information.

FIG. 10 c illustrates a signal flow diagram 1070 of the positiondetermination method according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 10 c , the electronic device 201 may include a firstantenna 1001 (e.g., the first antenna 211 in FIG. 2 ) and a secondantenna 1002 (e.g., the second antenna 212 in FIG. 2 ), and a thirdantenna (e.g., the third antenna 213 of FIG. 2 ). For example, theelectronic device 201 may be an electronic device having the structuredescribed above with reference to FIG. 6 to FIG. 8 b.

In operation 1071, the electronic device 201 may transmit first data tothe external electronic device 204 using the first antenna 1001. Forexample, the electronic device 201 may transmit a first signal includingthe first data. The first signal may be a signal for polling of theexternal electronic device 204. The first data may include channelidentification information. The first data may include information fortiming synchronization between the external electronic device 204 andthe electronic device 201.

In operation 1073, the electronic device 201 may receive a firstresponse from the external electronic device 204 using the first antenna1001 and the second antenna 1002. For example, the first response mayinclude response time information. The response time information mayinclude information about the time taken from when the externalelectronic device 204 receives the first data until it transmits thefirst response.

In operation 1075, the electronic device 201 may transmit second data tothe external electronic device 204. For example, the second data mayinclude information about response time information (e.g., time taken totransmit the second data after receiving the first response). Forexample, the second data may include information about the distancebetween the electronic device 201 and the external electronic device204, which is determined based on the transmission of the first data andthe reception time of the first response.

In operation 1077, the electronic device 201 may receive third data fromthe external electronic device 204. For example, the third data mayinclude information about response time information (e.g., time taken totransmit the third data after receiving the second data). For example,the third data may include information about the distance between theelectronic device 201 and the external electronic device 204, which isdetermined by the external electronic device 204 based on thetransmission of the first response and the reception time of the seconddata.

In operation 1079, the electronic device 201 may transmit fourth data tothe external electronic device 204 using the first antenna 1001. Forexample, the electronic device 201 may transmit a fourth signalincluding the fourth data. The first signal may be a signal for pollingof the external electronic device 204. The first data may includechannel identification information. The first data may includeinformation for timing synchronization between the external electronicdevice 204 and the electronic device 201.

In operation 1081, the electronic device 201 may receive a secondresponse from the external electronic device 204 using the first antenna1001 and the third antenna 1003. For example, the second response mayinclude response time information. The response time information mayinclude information about the time taken from when the externalelectronic device 204 receives the fourth data until it transmits thesecond response.

In operation 1083, the electronic device 201 may transmit fifth data tothe external electronic device 204. For example, the fifth data mayinclude information about response time information (e.g., time taken totransmit the fifth data after receiving the second response). Forexample, the second data may include information about the distancebetween the electronic device 201 and the external electronic device204, which is determined based on the transmission of the fourth dataand the reception time of the second response.

In operation 1085, the electronic device 201 may receive sixth data fromthe external electronic device 204. For example, the sixth data mayinclude information about response time information (e.g., time taken totransmit the sixth data after receiving the fifth data). For example,the sixth data may include information about the distance between theelectronic device 201 and the external electronic device 204, which isdetermined by the external electronic device 204 based on thetransmission of the second response and the reception time of the fifthdata.

For example, the electronic device 201 may perform operation 1071 tooperation 1085 according to the double sided-TWR (DS-TWR) of the UWBstandard (e.g., the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers(IEEE) 802.15.4a standard). For example, operation 1071 to operation1077 may be referred to as a first positioning 1095. The electronicdevice 201 may perform the first positioning 1095 by receiving a signalfrom the external electronic device 204 using a plurality of antennas.It is to be understood that the first positioning 1095 simultaneouslyperforms AoA measurement and ranging (e.g., DS-TWR) using the firstantenna 1001 and the second antenna 1002. Operation 1079 to operation1085 may be referred to as a second positioning 1096. The electronicdevice 201 may perform the second positioning 1096 by receiving a signalfrom the external electronic device 204 using a plurality of antennas.It is to be understood that the second positioning 1096 simultaneouslyperforms AoA measurement and ranging (e.g., DS-TWR) using the firstantenna 1001 and the third antenna 1003.

In operation 1087, the electronic device 201 may determine the positionof the external electronic device 204 using the first response and thesecond response. For example, the electronic device 201 may determinethe position of the external electronic device 204 based on a firstphase difference between the first antenna 1001 and the second antenna1002, which are associated with the reception of the first response,first response time information included in the first response, a secondphase difference between the first antenna 1001 and the third antenna1003, which are associated with the reception of the second response,and second response time information included in the second response.The electronic device 201 may determine the position of the externalelectronic device 204 based on candidate directions based on the firstphase difference, the first distance based on the first response timeinformation, candidate directions based on the second phase difference,and the second distance base on the second response time information.

FIG. 11 illustrates a signal flow diagram 1100 of the positiondetermination method according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 11 , the electronic device 201 may include the firstantenna 1001 (e.g., the first antenna 211 in FIG. 3 ) and the secondantenna 1002 (e.g., the second antenna 212 in FIG. 3 ), and the thirdantenna (e.g., the third antenna 213 of FIG. 3 ). For example, theelectronic device 201 may be an electronic device having the structuredescribed above with reference to FIG. 8 b and FIG. 9 .

In operation 1105, the electronic device 201 may receive first data fromthe external electronic device 204 using the first antenna 1001 and/orthe second antenna 1002. The description of operation 1105 may bereferred to by description of operation 1005 of FIG. 10 a.

In operation 1110, the electronic device 201 may transmit a firstresponse to the external electronic device 204 using the first antenna1001. The description of operation 1110 may be referred to bydescription of operation 1010 of FIG. 10 a.

In operation 1115, the electronic device 201 may receive second datafrom the external electronic device 204 using the first antenna 1001 andthe second antenna 1002. The description of operation 1115 may bereferred to by description of operation 1015 of FIG. 10 a.

In operation 1120, the electronic device 201 may identify candidatepositions of the external electronic device 204. The description ofoperation 1120 may be referred to by description of operation 1020 ofFIG. 10 a.

For example, operation 1105, operation 1110, operation 1115, andoperation 1020 may be referred to as a first positioning 1191. Theelectronic device 201 may perform the first positioning 1191 byreceiving a signal from the external electronic device 204 using aplurality of antennas. It is to be understood that the first positioning1191 simultaneously performs AoA measurement and ranging (e.g., two wayranging (TWR)) using the first antenna 1001 and the second antenna 1002.

In operation 1125, the electronic device 201 may receive third data fromthe external electronic device 204 using the third antenna 1003. Forexample, the electronic device 201 may allow the third antenna 1003 tobe connected to the communication processor by controlling a wirelesscommunication circuit associated with the communication processor. Forexample, the electronic device 201 may receive the third signalincluding the third data. The third signal may be a signal for pollingof the electronic device 201. For example, the third data may includetransmission time information about the time when the externalelectronic device 204 transmits the third signal. The third data mayinclude channel identification information. The third data may includeinformation for timing synchronization between the external electronicdevice 204 and the electronic device 201.

In operation 1130, the electronic device 201 may transmit a secondresponse to the external electronic device 204 using the third antenna1003. For example, the electronic device 201 may include, in the secondresponse, information (e.g., response time information) about the timewhen the second response is transmitted.

In step 1135, the electronic device 201 receives the fourth data fromthe external electronic device 204 using the third antenna 1003. Theelectronic device 201 may receive the fourth signal including the fourthdata. The fourth data may include information about the time at whichthe external electronic device 204 transmits the fourth signal (e.g.,response time information). The fourth data may further include achannel identifier, information about the time at which the externalelectronic device 204 transmits the third data, and/or information aboutthe time at which the external electronic device 204 received the secondresponse.

For example, the electronic device 201 may perform operation 1125,operation 1130, and operation 1135 according to the two way ranging(TWR) of the UWB standard.

In operation 1140, the electronic device 201 may determine the positionof the external electronic device 204. For example, the electronicdevice 201 may identify the distance between the electronic device 201and the external electronic device 204 using the fourth data receivedusing the third antenna 1003 in operation 1135. The electronic device201 may identify the distance between the electronic device 201 and theexternal electronic device 204 based on the ToF. For example, theelectronic device 204 may determine one of the candidate positionsidentified in operation 1120 as the position of the external electronicdevice 204, based on the identified distance. For another example, theelectronic device 204 may determine the position of the externalelectronic device 204 based on the direction and the distance based onthe second data and the direction and the distance based on the fourthdata.

For example, operation 1125, operation 1130, operation 1135, andoperation 1240 may be referred to as a second positioning 1192. Theelectronic device 201 may perform the second positioning 1192 byreceiving a signal from the external electronic device 204 using asingle antenna. It is to be understood that the second positioning 1192performs ranging (e.g., two way ranging (TWR)) using the third antenna1003.

In the example of FIG. 11 , the external electronic device 204 isillustrated to transmit a polling signal (e.g., first data and thirddata); however, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limitedthereto. For example, the electronic device 201 may transmit a pollingsignal to the external electronic device 204. In this case, thetransmitting and receiving ends of FIG. 11 may be changed with eachother. For example, in operation 1105, the electronic device 201 maytransmit the first data to the external electronic device 204 using thefirst antenna 1001 and/or the second antenna 1002. In this case, theelectronic device 201 may receive the first response from the externalelectronic device 204 using the first antenna 1001 and the secondantenna 1002. The first response may include information (e.g., responsetime information) about the time taken for the external electronicdevice 204 to transmit the first response after receiving the firstdata. The electronic device 201 may determine the distance between theelectronic device 201 and the external electronic device 204 based onthe transmission time of the first data, the reception time of the firstresponse time, and the response time information. Furthermore, theelectronic device 201 may acquire information about the phase differencebetween the first antenna 1001 and the second antenna 1002, which areassociated with the reception of the first response. For positioning ofthe external electronic device 204, in operation 1115, the electronicdevice 201 may transmit the second data to the external electronicdevice 204. For example, in operation 1125, the electronic device 201may transmit the third data (e.g., polling) to an external electronicdevice using the third antenna 1003. In operation 1130, the electronicdevice 201 may receive the second response using the third antenna 1003.The second response may include information (e.g., response timeinformation) about the time taken for the external electronic device 204to transmit the second response after receiving the third data. Theelectronic device 201 may determine the distance between the electronicdevice 201 and the external electronic device 204 based on thetransmission time of the third data, the reception time of the secondresponse time, and the response time information. For positioning of theexternal electronic device 204, in operation 1135, the electronic device201 may transmit the fourth data to the external electronic device 204.In operation 1140, the electronic device 201 may determine the positionof the external electronic device based on the phase differenceassociated with the reception of the first response, the timeinformation associated with the first response, and the time informationassociated with the second response.

FIG. 12 illustrates a signal flow diagram 1200 of the positiondetermination method according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 12 , the electronic device 201 may include the firstantenna 1001 (e.g., the first antenna 211 in FIG. 2 ) and the secondantenna 1002 (e.g., the second antenna 212 in FIG. 2 ), and the thirdantenna (e.g., the third antenna 213 of FIG. 2 ). For example, theelectronic device 201 may be an electronic device having the structuredescribed above with reference to FIG. 6 to FIG. 8 b.

In operation 1205, the electronic device 201 may receive first data fromthe external electronic device 204 using the first antenna 1001 and/orthe second antenna 1002. For example, the first data may includetransmission time information about the time when the externalelectronic device 204 transmits the first data.

In operation 1210, the electronic device 201 may receive second datafrom the external electronic device 204 using the first antenna 1001and/or the third antenna 1003. For example, the second data may includetransmission time information about the time when the externalelectronic device 204 transmits the second data.

According to an embodiment, the first data and the second data may beincluded in the first signal. For example, the first data and the seconddata may be data included in one packet. The electronic device 201 mayreceive the first data using the first antenna 1001 and the secondantenna 1002, change the communication circuit setting using a guardinterval between the first data and the second data, and receive thesecond data using the first antenna 1001 and the third antenna 1003. Thefirst signal may be a signal for polling of the electronic device 201.For example, the first data may include channel identificationinformation and/or information for timing synchronization between theexternal electronic device 204 and the electronic device 201.

In operation 1215, the electronic device 201 may transmit a firstresponse to the external electronic device 204 using the first antenna1001. For example, the electronic device 201 may include, in the firstresponse, information (e.g., time stamp) about the time when the firstresponse is transmitted.

In operation 1220, the electronic device 201 may receive third data fromthe external electronic device 204 using the first antenna 1001 and thesecond antenna 1002. The third data may include information about thetime when the external electronic device 204 transmits the third data.

In operation 1225, the electronic device 201 may receive fourth datafrom the external electronic device 204 using the first antenna 1001 andthe third antenna 1003. The fourth data may include information aboutthe time when the external electronic device 204 transmits the fourthdata.

According to an embodiment, the third data and the fourth data may beincluded in the second signal. For example, the third data and thefourth data may be data included in one packet. The electronic device201 may receive the third data using the first antenna 1001 and thesecond antenna 1002, change the communication circuit setting using aguard interval between the third data and the fourth data, and receivethe fourth data using the first antenna 1001 and the third antenna 1003.

For example, the electronic device 201 may perform operation 1205,operation 1210, operation 1215, operation 1220, and operation 1225according to the two way ranging (TWR) of the UWB standard (e.g., theInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.15.4astandard).

In operation 1230, the electronic device 201 may determine the positionof the external electronic device 204. For example, the electronicdevice 201 may identify candidate positions of the external electronicdevice 204 based on the phase difference of the second signal receivedby the first antenna 1001 and the second antenna 1002, and the distancebetween the electronic device 201 and the external electronic device 204which is identified based on the second data. The electronic device 201may determine one of the candidate positions as the position of theexternal electronic device 204 based on the phase difference of thesecond signal received by the first antenna 1001 and the third antenna1003, and the distance between the electronic device 201 and theexternal electronic device 204 which is identified based on the fourthdata. For another example, the electronic device 201 may determine theposition of the external electronic device 204 based on a) the phasedifference of the second signal received by the first antenna 1001 andthe second antenna 1002 and the distance between the electronic device201 and the external electronic device 204 which is identified based onthe second data, and b) the phase difference of the second signalreceived by the first antenna 1001 and the third antenna 1003 and thedistance between the electronic device 201 and the external electronicdevice 204 which is identified based on the fourth data.

For example, operation 1205, operation 1210, operation 1215, operation1220, operation 1225, and operation 1230 of FIG. 12 may be referred toas a first positioning 1291. In the example of FIG. 12 , the electronicdevice 201 may determine the position of the external electronic device204 with only one positioning by receiving a packet (e.g., a secondpacket 1492 of FIG. 14 ) including a plurality of pieces of timeinformation. It is to be understood that the first positioning 1291simultaneously performs AoA measurement and ranging using the firstantenna 1001 and the second antenna 1002 and using the first antenna1001 and the third antenna 1003.

In the example of FIG. 12 , as described above with reference to FIG. 10a , the transmitting end and the receiving end may be changed.

FIG. 13 illustrates a signal flow diagram 1300 of the positiondetermination method according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 13 , the electronic device 201 may include a firstantenna 1001 (e.g., the first antenna 211 of FIG. 4 ) and a secondantenna 1002 (e.g., the second antenna 212 of FIG. 4 ), and a thirdantenna (e.g., the third antenna 213 of FIG. 4 ).

In operation 1305, the electronic device 201 may receive first data fromthe external electronic device 204 using each of the first antenna 1001,the second antenna 1002, and the third antenna 1003. For example, theelectronic device 201 may receive a first signal including the firstdata. The first signal may be a signal for polling of the electronicdevice 201. For example, the first data may include transmission timeinformation about the time when the external electronic device 204transmits the first signal. The first data may include channelidentification information. The first data may include information fortiming synchronization between the external electronic device 204 andthe electronic device 201.

In operation 1310, the electronic device 201 may transmit a firstresponse to the external electronic device 204 using the first antenna1001. For example, the electronic device 201 may include, in the firstresponse, information (e.g., time stamp) about the time when the firstresponse is transmitted.

In operation 1315, the electronic device 201 may receive second datafrom the external electronic device 204 using each of the first antenna1001, the second antenna 1002, and the third antenna 1003. For example,the electronic device 201 may receive the second signal including thesecond data. The second data may include information about the time whenthe external electronic device 204 transmits the second signal. Thesecond data may further include, for example, a channel identifier,information about the time when the external electronic device 204transmits the first data, and/or information about the time when theexternal electronic device 204 receives the first response.

In operation 1320, the electronic device 201 may determine the positionof the external electronic device 204. For example, the electronicdevice 201 may determine the position of the external electronic device204 based on a first distance between the first antenna 1001 and theexternal electronic device 204, a second distance between the secondantenna 1002 and the external electronic device 204, and a thirddistance between the third antenna 1003 and the external electronicdevice 204. For example, the electronic device 201 may determine theposition of the external electronic device 204 by performingtriangulation using the physical arrangement of the first antenna 1001,the second antenna 1002, and the third antenna 1003, the first distance,the second distance, and the third distance.

For example, it is to be understood that a positioning 1391 of FIG. 13is the measurement of the position of the external electronic device 204using three or more antennas of the electronic device 201 throughdistance measurement (e.g., TWR) for each antenna. FIG. 13 illustratesthat only one ranging is performed; however, embodiments of the presentdisclosure are not limited thereto. For example, the electronic device201 may perform the first ranging with the external electronic device204 using the first antenna 1001, may perform the second ranging withthe external electronic device 204 using the second antenna 1002, andmay perform the third ranging with the external electronic device 204using the third antenna 1003.

In the example of FIG. 13 , the transmitting end and the receiving endmay be changed. For example, in operation 1305, the electronic device201 may transmit first data (e.g., data for polling) to the externalelectronic device 204 using the first antenna 1001, the second antenna1002, and/or the third antenna 1003. In operation 1310, the electronicdevice 201 may receive a first response from the external electronicdevice 204 using the first antenna 1001, the second antenna 1002, andthe third antenna 1003. For example, using response time informationincluded in the first response, the electronic device 201 may determinethe position of the external electronic device 204.

FIG. 14 illustrates a diagram packet structures according to variousembodiments.

According to an embodiment, the electronic device 201 may receive apacket having the same structure as a first packet 1491 from theexternal electronic device 204. For example, the first packet 1491 mayinclude a synchronization field (SYNC) 1401, a start of frame delimiter(SFD) 1403, and a scrambled time stamp (STS) 1405.

For example, the SYNC 1401 may include information for channelidentification and packet synchronization. For example, the electronicdevice 201 may search for a path between the electronic device 201 andthe external electronic device 204 using a correlation channel impulseresponse (CIR) of the SYNC 1401 of data received from the externalelectronic device 204. For example, the SFD 1403 indicates the end ofSYNC 1401, and may be used as a reference for generating time stampinformation of the STS 1405. For example, the STS 1405 may include timestamp information. For example, the time stamp information may includeresponse time information. The STS 1405 may be encoded using, forexample, a code defined between the transmitting end and the receivingend. For example, in the embodiments of FIG. 10 a and FIG. 11 , thefirst data or the second data may be transmitted from the externalelectronic device 204 to the electronic device 201 using the firstpacket 1491.

According to an embodiment, the electronic device 201 may receive apacket having the same structure as the second packet 1492 from theexternal electronic device 204. For example, the second packet 1492 mayinclude a SYNC 1401, an SFD 1403, a first STS 1407, a guard 1408, and asecond STS 1409. For example, the guard 1408 may be used as a delimiterbetween the first STS 1407 and the second STS 1409.

For example, the first STS 1407 may include first time stamp information(e.g., response time information), and the second STS may include secondtime stamp information (e.g., response time information). For example,the first time stamp and the second time stamp may be information aboutthe same time based on the SFD 1403. For another example, the first timestamp and the second time stamp may be information about different timesfrom each other. For example, in the example of FIG. 12 , the first datamay correspond to the first STS 1407 and the second data may correspondto the second STS 1409. For another example, the third data in FIG. 12may correspond to the first STS 1407 and the fourth data may correspondto the second STS 1409.

FIG. 15 illustrates a flow chart 1500 of the position determinationmethod according to an embodiment.

According to various embodiments, a portable electronic device (e.g.,the electronic device 201 of FIG. 2 ) may include a communicationcircuit (e.g., the first communication circuit 661 and the secondcommunication circuit 662 of FIG. 6 to FIG. 8 b ) electrically connectedto a first antenna (e.g., the first antenna 211 of FIG. 2 ), andelectrically connected to a second antenna (e.g., the second antenna 212of FIG. 2 ) or a third antenna (e.g., the third antenna 213 of FIG. 2 ).The portable electronic device may include at least one processor (e.g.,the processor 620 and the first communication processor 691 of FIG. 6 toFIG. 8 b ) operatively connected to the communication circuit and amemory (e.g., the memory 630 of FIG. 6 to FIG. 8 b ) operativelyconnected to the at least one processor. For example, the memory maystore one or more instructions that, when executed, cause at least oneprocessor to perform operations to be described below.

In operation 1505, the at least one processor may receive first datafrom the external electronic device using the first antenna and thesecond antenna. The first data may include time information (e.g.,response time information) regarding the first data transmission time ofthe external electronic device. For example, operation 1505 maycorrespond to operation 1015 of FIG. 10 a.

In operation 1510, the at least one processor may receive second datafrom the external electronic device using the first antenna and thethird antenna. The second data may include time information (e.g.,response time information) regarding the second data transmission timeof the external electronic device. For example, operation 1510 maycorrespond to operation 1035 of FIG. 10 a.

In operation 1515, the at least one processor may determine the positionof the external electronic device using the first data and the seconddata. The at least one processor may determine the position of theexternal electronic device based on the phase difference associated withreception of the first data, time information of the first data, thephase difference associated with reception of the second data, and timeinformation of the second data. For example, the at least one processormay determine the position of the external electronic device based onfirst directions based on the phase difference associated with the firstdata, the first distance based on the time information of the firstdata, second directions based on the phase difference associated withreception of the second data, and the second distance based on the timeinformation of the second data. For example, operation 1515 maycorrespond to operation 1040 of FIG. 10 a.

FIG. 16 illustrates a flow chart 1600 of the position determinationmethod according to an embodiment.

According to various embodiments, a portable electronic device (e.g.,the electronic device 201 of FIG. 3 ) may include a communicationcircuit (e.g., the first communication circuit 661 of FIG. 9 )electrically connected to a first antenna (e.g., the first antenna 211of FIG. 3 ) or a third antenna (e.g., the third antenna 213 of FIG. 3 ),and electrically connected to a second antenna (e.g., the second antenna212 of FIG. 3 ). The portable electronic device may include at least oneprocessor (e.g., the processor 620 and the first communication processor691 of FIG. 8 b and FIG. 9 ) operatively connected to the communicationcircuit and a memory (e.g., the memory 630 of FIG. 8 b and FIG. 9 )operatively connected to the at least one processor. For example, thememory may store one or more instructions that, when executed, cause atleast one processor to perform operations to be described below.

In operation 1605, the at least one processor may receive first datafrom the external electronic device using the first antenna and thesecond antenna. The first data may include time information (e.g.,response time information) regarding the first data transmission time ofthe external electronic device. For example, operation 1605 maycorrespond to operation 1115 of FIG. 11 .

In operation 1615, the at least one processor may receive second datafrom the external electronic device using the third antenna. The seconddata may include time information (e.g., response time information)regarding the second data transmission time of the external electronicdevice. For example, operation 1615 may correspond to operation 1135 ofFIG. 11 .

In operation 1625, the at least one processor may determine the positionof the external electronic device based on the first data and the seconddata. For example, the at least one processor may determine the positionof the external electronic device based on the phase differenceassociated with reception of the first data, time information of thefirst data, and time information of the second data. The at least oneprocessor may determine the position of the external electronic devicebased on directions based on the phase difference associated withreception of the first data, the distance based on the time informationof the first data, and the distance based on the time information of thesecond data.

For example, the operation 1625 may correspond to operation 1140 of FIG.11 .

According to various embodiments, a portable electronic device (e.g.,the electronic device 201 of FIG. 3 ) may include a communicationcircuit (e.g., the first communication circuit 661 and/or the secondcommunication circuit 662 of FIG. 8 b and FIG. 9 ) electricallyconnected to a first antenna (e.g., the first antenna 211 of FIG. 3 ) ora third antenna (e.g., the third antenna 213 of FIG. 3 ) andelectrically connected to a second antenna (e.g., the second antenna 212of FIG. 3 ), at least one processor (e.g., the first communicationprocessor 691 and/or the processor 620 of FIG. 8 b and FIG. 9 )operatively connected to the communication circuit, and a memory (e.g.,the memory 630 of FIG. 8 b and FIG. 9 ) operatively connected with theat least one processor. The memory may include one or more instructionsthat, when executed, cause the at least one processor to performoperations to be described below.

For example, the one or more instructions may, when executed, cause theat least one processor to receive a first signal including first datafrom an external electronic device using the first antenna and thesecond antenna, receive a second signal including second data from theexternal electronic device using the third antenna, and determine aposition of the external electronic device based on a phase differenceof the first signal, time information of the first data, and timeinformation of the second data. For example, the first antenna and thesecond antenna may be located within a first distance to performbeamforming on the first signal, and the third antenna may be spacedapart from the first antenna or the second antenna by a second distanceor more, and the second distance may be longer than the first distance.At least one of the first antenna, the second antenna, and the thirdantenna may not be located on a same straight line, and the specifieddistance may be set based on a resolution of positioning using the firstsignal.

According to an embodiment, the one or more instructions may, whenexecuted, cause the at least one processor to identify a plurality ofcandidate directions of the external electronic device based on a phasedifference of the first signal, and identify a third distance betweenthe portable electronic device and the external electronic device basedon time information of the first data. The one or more instructions may,when executed, cause the at least one processor to identify a fourthdistance between the third antenna and the external electronic devicebased on the time information of the second data, and determine theposition of the external electronic device based on the plurality ofcandidate directions, the third distance, and the fourth distance.

According to an embodiment, the one or more instructions may, whenexecuted, cause the at least one processor to transmit a third signal tothe external electronic device using the first antenna, receive thefirst signal including the first data from the external electronicdevice in response to the third signal, transmit a fourth signal to theexternal electronic device using the third antenna, and receive thesecond signal including the second data from the external electronicdevice in response to the fourth signal. For example, the timeinformation of the first data may include response time informationtaken for the external electronic device to transmit the first signalafter receiving the third signal, and the time information of the seconddata may include response time information taken for the externalelectronic device to transmit the second signal after receiving thefourth signal.

For example, the at least one processor may include a firstcommunication processor (e.g., the first communication processor 691 ofFIG. 8 b ) configured to provide communication based on a firstcommunication protocol and a second communication processor (e.g., thesecond communication processor 692 of FIG. 8 b ) configured to providecommunication based on a second communication protocol. Thecommunication circuit may include a switching circuit to connect thethird antenna to the first communication processor or the secondcommunication processor.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a method ofdetermining a position of an external electronic device by a portableelectronic device may include receiving a first signal including firstdata from the external electronic device using a first antenna and asecond antenna connected to a communication circuit of the portableelectronic device, switching the connection of the first antenna suchthat the communication circuit is connected to the third antenna,receiving a second signal including second data from the externalelectronic device using the third antenna, and determining the positionof the external electronic device based on a phase difference of thefirst signal, time information of the first data, and time informationof the second data. The communication circuit may be electricallyconnected to the first antenna or the third antenna and electricallyconnected to the second antenna. For example, the first antenna and thesecond antenna may be located within a first distance, and the thirdantenna may be spaced apart from the first antenna or the second antennaby a second distance or more, and the second distance may be longer thanthe first distance. For example, at least one of the first antenna, thesecond antenna, and the third antenna may not be located on a samestraight line, and the specified distance may be set based on aresolution of positioning using the first signal.

The determining of the position of the external electronic device mayinclude identifying a plurality of candidate directions of the externalelectronic device based on a phase difference of the first signal,identifying a third distance between the portable electronic device andthe external electronic device based on the time information of thefirst data, identifying a fourth distance between the third antenna andthe external electronic device based on the time information of thesecond data, and determining the position of the external electronicdevice based on the plurality of candidate directions, the thirddistance, and the fourth distance.

The receiving of the first signal may include transmitting a thirdsignal to the external electronic device using the first antenna andreceiving the first signal including the first data from the externalelectronic device in response to the third signal, and the receiving ofthe second signal may include transmitting a fourth signal to theexternal electronic device using the third antenna and receiving thesecond signal including the second data from the external electronicdevice in response to the fourth signal.

For example, the portable electronic device may include a firstcommunication processor configured to provide communication based on thefirst communication protocol and a second communication processorconfigured to provide communication based on the second communicationprotocol. The transmitting of the fourth signal may includedisconnecting the first antenna from the first communication processor,and connecting the third antenna to the first communication processor.

For example, the first communication protocol may include acommunication protocol using an ultra-wideband signal, and the secondcommunication protocol may be Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.

According to various embodiments, a portable electronic device mayinclude a communication circuit (e.g., the first communication circuit661 and/or the second communication circuit 662 of FIG. 6 to FIG. 8 b )electrically connected to a first antenna (e.g., the first antenna 211of FIG. 2 ) and electrically connected to a second antenna (e.g., thesecond antenna 212 of FIG. 2 ) or a third antenna (e.g., the thirdantenna 213 of FIG. 2 ), at least one processor (e.g., the firstcommunication processor 691, the second communication processor 692,and/or the processor 620 of FIG. 6 to FIG. 8 b ) operatively connectedwith the communication circuit, and a memory (e.g., the memory 630 ofFIG. 6 to FIG. 8 b ) operatively connected with the at least oneprocessor. The memory may store one or more instructions that, whenexecuted, cause the at least one processor to perform operations to bedescribed below.

The one or more instructions may, when executed, cause the at least oneprocessor to receive a first signal including first data from anexternal electronic device using the first antenna and the secondantenna, receive a second signal including second data from the externalelectronic device using the first antenna and the second antenna, anddetermine a position of the external electronic device based on a phasedifference of the first signal, time information of the first data, aphase difference of the second signal, and time information of thesecond data.

For example, the first antenna and the second antenna may be locatedwithin a first distance for beamforming, the first antenna and the thirdantenna may be located within the first distance for beamforming, and atleast one of the first antenna, the second antenna, and the thirdantenna may not be located on a same straight line.

The one or more instructions may, when executed, cause the at least oneprocessor to identify a plurality of candidate directions of theexternal electronic device based on a phase difference of the firstsignal, and identify a distance between the portable electronic deviceand the external electronic device based on time information of thefirst data.

The one or more instructions may, when executed, cause the at least oneprocessor to identify a plurality of candidate directions of theexternal electronic device based on a phase difference of the secondsignal, and identify a distance between the portable electronic deviceand the external electronic device based on time information of thesecond data.

The at least one processor may include a first communication processorconfigured to provide communication based on a first communicationprotocol and a second communication processor configured to providecommunication based on a second communication protocol. Thecommunication circuit may include a switching circuit configured toconnect the third antenna to the first communication processor or thesecond communication processor.

According to an embodiment, an electronic device may includecommunication means for receiving a first signal including first datafrom an external electronic device using signal transmitting andreceiving means including a first antenna and a second antenna. Theelectronic device may include switching means for switching connectionof the first antenna such that the communication means is connected to athird antenna of the signal transmitting and receiving means. Thecommunication means may receive a second signal including the seconddata from the external electronic device using the third antenna. Theelectronic device may include position determination means fordetermining the position of the external electronic device based on aphase difference of the first signal, time information of the firstdata, and time information of the second data. The communication meansmay be electrically connected to the first antenna or the third antennaand electrically connected to the second antenna. For example, the firstantenna and the second antenna may be located within a first distance,and the third antenna may be spaced apart from the first antenna or thesecond antenna by a second distance or more, and the second distance maybe longer than the first distance. For example, at least one of thefirst antenna, the second antenna, and the third antenna may not belocated on a same straight line, and the specified distance may be setbased on a resolution of positioning using the first signal.

The position determination means may perform an operation of identifyinga plurality of candidate directions of the external electronic devicebased on a phase difference of the first signal, an operation ofidentifying a third distance between the portable electronic device andthe external electronic device based on the time information of thefirst data, an operation of identifying a fourth distance between thethird antenna and the external electronic device based on the timeinformation of the second data, and an operation of determining theposition of the external electronic device based on the plurality ofcandidate directions, the third distance, and the fourth distance.

For reception of the first signal, the communication means may performan operation of transmitting a third signal to the external electronicdevice using the first antenna and an operation of receiving the firstsignal including the first data from the external electronic device inresponse to the third signal. The operation of receiving the secondsignal may include an operation of transmitting a fourth signal to theexternal electronic device using the third antenna, and an operation ofreceiving the second signal including the second data from the externalelectronic device in response to the fourth signal.

For example, the communication means may include a first communicationprocessor configured to provide communication based on the firstcommunication protocol and a second communication processor configuredto provide communication based on the second communication protocol. Forexample, the first communication protocol may include a communicationprotocol using an ultra-wideband signal, and the second communicationprotocol may be Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.

The switching means may disconnect the first antenna from the firstcommunication processor and connect the third antenna to the firstcommunication processor in order to transmit the fourth signal.

1. A portable electronic device, comprising: a communication circuitelectrically connected to a first antenna or a third antenna andelectrically connected to a second antenna; a processor operativelyconnected with the communication circuit; and a memory operativelyconnected with the processor, wherein the memory stores instructionsthat, when executed, cause the processor to: receive, from an externalelectronic device, a first signal including first data using the firstantenna and the second antenna, receive, from the external electronicdevice, a second signal including second data using the third antenna,and determine a position of the external electronic device based on aphase difference of the first signal, time information of the firstdata, and time information of the second data.
 2. The portableelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the first antenna and the secondantenna are located within a first distance of each other for performingbeamforming on the first signal, wherein the third antenna is spacedapart from the first antenna or the second antenna by a second distance,and wherein the second distance is longer than the first distance. 3.The portable electronic device of claim 2, wherein at least one of thefirst antenna, the second antenna, and the third antenna is not locatedon a same straight line, and wherein the second distance is based on aresolution of positioning using the first signal.
 4. The portableelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed,further cause the processor to: identify a plurality of candidatedirections of the external electronic device based on a phase differenceof the first signal, and identify a third distance between the portableelectronic device and the external electronic device based on the timeinformation of the first data.
 5. The portable electronic device ofclaim 4, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause theprocessor to: identify a fourth distance between the third antenna andthe external electronic device based on the time information of thesecond data, and determine the position of the external electronicdevice based on the plurality of candidate directions, the thirddistance, and the fourth distance.
 6. The portable electronic device ofclaim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause theprocessor to: transmit a third signal to the external electronic deviceusing the first antenna, receive the first signal including the firstdata from the external electronic device in response to the thirdsignal, transmit a fourth signal to the external electronic device usingthe third antenna, and receive the second signal including the seconddata from the external electronic device in response to the fourthsignal.
 7. The portable electronic device of claim 6, wherein the timeinformation of the first data includes response time informationindicating a time taken by the external electronic device to transmitthe first signal, after receiving the third signal, and wherein the timeinformation of the second data includes response time informationindicating a time taken by the external electronic device to transmitthe second signal, after receiving the fourth signal.
 8. The portableelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the processor includes a firstcommunication processor configured to provide communication based on afirst communication protocol and a second communication processorconfigured to provide communication based on a second communicationprotocol, wherein the communication circuit includes a switching circuitconfigured to connect the third antenna to the first communicationprocessor or the second communication processor, and wherein the firstcommunication protocol uses an ultra-wideband signal.
 9. A method ofdetermining a position of an external electronic device by a portableelectronic device, the method comprising: receiving, from the externalelectronic device, a first signal including first data using a firstantenna and a second antenna connected to a communication circuit of theportable electronic device; switching the connection of thecommunication circuit from the first antenna to a third antenna;receiving, from the external electronic device, a second signalincluding second data using the third antenna; and determining aposition of the external electronic device based on a phase differenceof the first signal, time information of the first data, and timeinformation of the second data.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein thefirst antenna and the second antenna are located within a first distanceof each other, and wherein the third antenna is spaced apart from thefirst antenna or the second antenna by a second distance, and whereinthe second distance is longer than the first distance.
 11. The method ofclaim 10, wherein at least one of the first antenna, the second antenna,and the third antenna is not located on a same straight line, andwherein the second distance is based on a resolution of positioningusing the first signal.
 12. The method of claim 9, wherein determiningthe position of the external electronic device comprises: identifying aplurality of candidate directions of the external electronic devicebased on the phase difference of the first signal; identifying a thirddistance between the portable electronic device and the externalelectronic device based on the time information of the first data;identifying a fourth distance between the third antenna and the externalelectronic device based on the time information of the second data; anddetermining the position of the external electronic device based on thecandidate directions, the third distance, and the fourth distance. 13.The method of claim 9, wherein receiving the first signal comprises:transmitting a third signal to the external electronic device using thefirst antenna; and receiving, from the external electronic device, thefirst signal including the first data, in response to the third signal,and wherein receiving the second signal comprises: transmitting a fourthsignal to the external electronic device using the third antenna; andreceiving, from the external electronic device, the second signalincluding the second data, in response to the fourth signal.
 14. Themethod of claim 13, wherein the portable electronic device includes afirst communication processor configured to provide communication basedon a first communication protocol and a second communication processorconfigured to provide communication based on a second communicationprotocol, and wherein transmitting the fourth signal comprisesdisconnecting the first antenna from the first communication processorand connecting the third antenna to the first communication processor.15. The method of claim 14, wherein the first communication protocoluses an ultra-wideband signal, and wherein the second communicationprotocol is Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.
 16. A portable electronic device,comprising: a communication circuit electrically connected to a firstantenna and electrically connected to a second antenna or a thirdantenna; a processor operatively connected with the communicationcircuit; and a memory operatively connected with the processor, whereinthe memory stores instructions that, when executed, cause the processorto: receive, from an external electronic device, a first signalincluding first data using the first antenna and the second antenna;receive, from the external electronic device, a second signal includingsecond data using the first antenna and the second antenna; anddetermine a position of the external electronic device based on a phasedifference of the first signal, time information of the first data, aphase difference of the second signal, and time information of thesecond data.
 17. The portable electronic device of claim 16, wherein thefirst antenna and the second antenna are located within a first distanceof each other for beamforming, wherein the first antenna and the thirdantenna are located within the first distance for beamforming, andwherein at least one of the first antenna, the second antenna, and thethird antenna is not located on a same straight line.
 18. The portableelectronic device of claim 16, wherein the instructions, when executed,further cause the processor to: identify a plurality of candidatedirections of the external electronic device based on a phase differenceof the first signal, and identify a distance between the portableelectronic device and the external electronic device based on the timeinformation of the first data.
 19. The portable electronic device ofclaim 18, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause theprocessor to: identify a plurality of candidate directions of theexternal electronic device based on a phase difference of the secondsignal; and identify the distance between the portable electronic deviceand the external electronic device based on the time information of thesecond data.
 20. The portable electronic device of claim 16, wherein theprocessor includes a first communication processor configured to providecommunication based on a first communication protocol and a secondcommunication processor configured to provide communication based on asecond communication protocol, and wherein the communication circuitincludes a switching circuit configured to connect the third antenna tothe first communication processor or the second communication processor.